


This Masquerade

by Mrs_Pepperpot



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Adventure, Angst and Humor, F/M, Fantasy, Force Bond (Star Wars), Lightsabers, Reylo - Freeform, Romance, Science Fiction, Space Opera, Undercover Missions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-05
Updated: 2017-02-09
Packaged: 2018-05-31 09:15:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 48,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6464578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mrs_Pepperpot/pseuds/Mrs_Pepperpot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rey goes on a dangerous undercover mission for General Organa and the resistance. Will Kylo Ren, in the guise of a Radar Technician, help or hinder her? Supreme Leader Snoke will do whatever it takes to hold on to his prize. Totally Reylo.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Desperate times called for desperate measures. Destroying Starkiller Base was only the first victory in a long war that would be hard to win. The First Order were regrouping and rebuilding. General Organa and the resistance needed all the information they could gather. Their numbers were few, and without the New Republic, they had little support across the galaxy. Factions were already emerging among the fragile alliance. Leia hoped to find something they could all unite against. From the little she'd heard, the surviving remnants of the First Order had retreated, possibly to the Outer Rim. Whatever their future plans, they were shrouded in secrecy. It was known that they were in dire need of new conscripts. The children they abducted for their Stormtrooper programmes would not serve the First Order's current needs as many of their battle-ready adult counterparts were lost when Starkiller Base exploded. It was riskier for them to take adolescents and adults that had not been indoctrinated since childhood. However, the penalties for breaking the rules were harsh enough to keep most of them in line. General Organa received intelligence that the First Order was rounding up all capable scavengers, smugglers and other young miscreants with creative talents. It was via this route that Leia hoped to get an agent inside their new centre of operations.

Leia knew that Ben had survived the destruction of Starkiller Base; she could feel his presence through the force. She was not alone in sensing her son. Luke and Rey felt the connection, too. After months of training, Jedi Master and Padawan were ready to rejoin the efforts of the resistance. Plans were being drawn and infiltration of the First Order seemed to be the best course of action. Sending a spy undercover was something that had yielded the most useful results in the past and strategically, it made more sense to send someone dispensable. There was a high risk that the agent might be discovered and killed, but it was also a mission better suited to a Jedi. Someone who could use the force to get information a regular person might miss or not have access to by conventional means. Rey was wary, mainly because of the unwanted bond that she'd forged with her enemy. Kylo Ren had got into her head and under her skin. She resented having any connection with him. For Leia and Luke's sake, if nothing else, she wanted to believe he wasn't all bad. But after witnessing him killing Han and seeing the damage he inflicted on Finn, it was nigh on impossible for her to accept there was any good left in him. The occasional glimpses she got into his head did little to convince her otherwise. Kylo was like a black cloud that hung over her. He was rage, pain and every other negative emotion she could name.

There was a suggestion from some in the resistance that Rey should return to Jakku. A temporary resumption of her old life could serve as cover, the general postulated. The idea stirred up conflicting emotions in her. A small part of her wanted to go back, and at the same time, the rest of her never wanted to set foot on that planet again. Resigned to accepting the mission, she found she was relieved when it was discovered that Jakku had already been visited by the First Order. Further intelligence suggested that Zanddu, a planet in a neighbouring system would be their next target for gathering new conscripts. With no time to lose, Rey made preparations for the task ahead. Finn was vehemently against her leaving, fearing he would never see her again. BB8 followed her around beeping his concern. Luke and Leia made it clear that it was her choice to make, they wouldn't order her to do it. In the event that she was to cross paths with Kylo Ren again, one of them would likely not survive to tell the tale. Neither his mother or uncle asked her to spare his life or attempt to bring him home, but she knew what was in their hearts all the same. Killing Han had not extinguished their love for him. Even if they had accepted that the boy they once knew would never return.

Rey found some aspects of being a Jedi apprentice rather restraining. The force chose her, rather than her choosing it, and there were times when she felt resentful about that. Mostly, she embraced her destiny. She was grateful to have a purpose after years of doing nothing but waiting and surviving. The force gave her the power to do good and help others instead of scratching a living in the dirt. But it could also be a heavy burden to bear. Rey wondered if it might be the reason her family never returned to reclaim her. Did they know she was force sensitive and saw a curse where others saw a blessing? The dark side was seductive; she tasted it when she defeated Kylo and vowed never to let it consume her as it had him. She had found belonging with the family he left behind, and she would not throw it away.

"Don't give me that look," Rey scolded Finn as she loaded up the J-Type Star Skiff for her journey to Zanddu.

His scowl conveyed his displeasure without him having to tell her for the umpteenth time how he had a bad feeling about all this.

"I promised when I left for Ahch-To that we would see each other again and I kept my word, didn't I? We are best friends forever now, and you don't get rid of me that easily," she grinned as she hugged him tightly to her.

Finn couldn't help feeling a sliver of disappointment. Friendship was a wonderful thing, but he couldn't deny he'd hoped for more. There was so much he wanted to say and declarations he'd planned on making. In the end, he opted for letting her know how much he would miss her.

"Just don't go getting yourself killed," he warned, "and if you see that Gundark-faced, long black streak of no good, you kick his ass all the way across the galaxy."

Rey chuckled, "Don't worry, I will."

All the resistance who were on base turned out to say farewell to her. Poe teased her about how they couldn't afford to lose their second best pilot and told her she had better come back safe. Leia reaffirmed her faith in her agent, leaving her flagging but abiding hopes for her son unsaid. Rey entrusted her newly build double-edged lightsaber adapted from her old staff to Luke. She felt vulnerable without it, but her master and Leia's parting valediction of _May the force be with you,_ gave her strength for the task ahead.

* * *

It was less than two parsecs to Zanddu, and the journey passed without incident until she came out of hyperspace. A First Order Star Destroyer materialised close behind her as she entered the planet's atmosphere. There would now be no time for her to establish cover as a scavenger. She would have to land, ditch the skiff and integrate with the local population as best she could before the First Order shuttles arrived. Rey located what appeared to be a busy civilian trading area on the scanners and headed towards the outskirts just beyond the settlements. The terrain wasn't too dissimilar to Jakku and she was able to find a sheltered spot to land in. She was already wearing a replica of the outfit she wore back in her scavenging days. It shouldn't be too difficult to blend in, she reasoned. Her main concern was that Kylo Ren might be the one who was sent to make the selections. He would recognise her for sure, even though her hair had been dyed a lighter shade of brown and her hazel eyes were camouflaged with green lenses.

Making her way into the main trading area, Rey spotted a Bothan struggling to fix a speeder.

"Need a hand?" She offered with a cheery smile.

The hairy humanoid eyed her with suspicion but stepped aside so she could inspect the fault. Having repaired many similar vehicles on Jakku, it didn't take her long to pinpoint the problem.

"The reverse power flux coupling has come loose," Rey explained as she adjusted the wiring.

In no time at all, the engine was humming.

"Thank you," the creature said in a gruff voice.

He looked as if he had more to say, but at that moment, a fleet of shuttles and Tie fighters swooped into view.

"Holy beek-monkeys, it's the frappin' First Order," the Bothan growled, "Go and hide, quickly."

His warning rang in her ears as she watched him ride off on his speeder. The moment of truth was upon her. Rey took a deep breath and reached out to draw strength from the force as she awaited her fate.

The first battalion of Stormtroopers arrived led by a rather short brown-haired man in a black uniform with matching hat. His jacket bore the emblem of the First Order.

"Round up all the young healthy males and females," he commanded his troops.

Rey soon found herself corralled with a rag-tag group of scavengers and orphans. Blasters were trained on them as the black-uniformed officer assessed them individually.

"You," he addressed her, "what are your skills?"

"I'm good at repairing just about anything," she boasted.

He looked her up and down, "You'll do," he said, signalling for her to be loaded onto the nearest transport.

It was cramped and hot once the other conscripts had been brought aboard. There were too many people packed into too small a container with no food or water. Rey calmed herself by meditating. The air was stale and stifling by the time the transport craft reached its destination. She felt lightheaded and could see some of the others in the group were struggling too. As the doors opened, they were hit by a welcoming cool breeze. The rain was pounding down from leaden grey skies, making it difficult to get a decent view of the terrain. The planet surface she could see was made up of jagged rocks and nestled amidst the craggy granite outcrops were five huge domes. Each one was a mix of shiny metal with numerous glass viewing platforms. The structures were interconnected with translucent walkways.

"This way," the commander herded the new acquisitions towards the nearest building.

Rey grew more apprehensive with each step. A feral looking young man of around sixteen tried to break off from the group. He was immediately stunned with a blaster and carried away by a couple of Stormtroopers. For a terrifying moment, she thought she caught a glimpse of the dark figure of Kylo Ren staring out from behind his blank mask at her from one of the observation windows. However, when she looked again, there was no one there. Rey reached out through the force in an attempt to detect any sign of him but was unable to sense his presence. Luke had taught her how to hide her force signature, in case Kylo was there, she hoped it was working. Up ahead, there was an inspection line of six black-uniformed officers that were assessing the new arrivals. Every conscript was scanned under two intersecting beams of red light. The results were then displayed on the datapads each officer held. From there, they were sent to one of three reception areas, depending on what their scans showed. Rey was directed to the middle group where she was met by an administrator.

"You have been assigned to engineering and general maintenance," the female officer informed her as she checked her datapad. "Your designated identification code is RK-1992. You will remember it and use it in place of any name you might previously have known. Proceed to the turbolift, it will take you to the subterranean barracks. When you arrive, collect your work uniform and go directly to the Refresher. A medical droid will examine you and implant your tracking chip."

The tracker would be a problem, Rey frowned; she needed to perform her reconnaissance of the entire base without detection. She hoped there would be an opportunity to somehow prevent the implantation. Glancing around with unease, she found the sterile environment unnatural as someone who had lived most of their life in sand and dirt. Everything was black, shiny and new. Packed into the turbolift capsule with twenty others, she counted it descending seven floors before it came to a halt. The whole place seemed designed to prevent and deter fraternisation. She was abruptly ordered by an armed administrator to remove her clothing and throw it into an incineration chute. There were multiple showers cubicles in the Refresher so everyone could be kept separated. After a brief sanitising blast of hot water and air drying, Rey hesitantly pulled on her dark grey jumpsuit. It was emblazoned on both arms with the First Order emblem. The tool belt gave her some shape, but wearing it made her uncomfortable. She thought about Finn and how he must have felt, trapped inside his Stormtrooper armour.

"RK-1992," a medical droid beckoned her to step inside an examination pod.

With no way to avoid it without arousing suspicion, the best course of action appeared to be to allow the tracker to be implanted. She would worry about removing it later. A yellow light passed over her body and the droid strapped her left forearm down. Rey let out a sharp exhale as two needles shot out and pierced her skin.

"Hey," she protested, "I thought there was only one tracker."

"All females are required to receive a contraceptive implant," it informed her.

The droid's emotionless delivery belied the unnerving implications of such a necessity. Was she to be passed around for the pleasure of the male occupants of the base? The idea made her shudder with apprehension and repulsion. There was no time to dwell on it as she was led to her individual habitation pod. The barracks housed hundreds, if not thousands of workers. Rey was grateful for some measure of privacy. It was a small space, containing only a cot, a square table with bench seat attached, basic refresher facilities and a small viewing screen. The lighting was harsh and propaganda reels were played at regular intervals on a loop.

" _The First Order is your family now. Together we will build a better future."_

The ginger-haired General Hux delivered the message with zeal. Rey kept waiting for Kylo Ren to appear and tell her to get with the programme in his own unique way, vocalising from behind that silly mask. There was no sign of him, until a section on military might ended with a stylised fighting display from the Knights of Ren and their Master. Rey rolled her eyes as she thought back to their battle in the snow. Evidently, he had repaired his lightsaber as she watched him twirl the unstable blade. She briefly thought about the scar she'd left him with. It gave her a twinge of guilt to recall the rage with which she'd inflicted it. There was no doubt in her mind at the time that he deserved it, and worse. But she was a Jedi Padawan now, and that kind of thinking would lead only to the dark side. Her focus returned to her mission. Whatever the First Order were up to, they weren't advertising it to the rank and file. Rey touched the sore spot on her arm where the tracker was embedded. It wasn't too deep under the skin, and with her access to engineering tools, she hoped to be able to find something sharp enough to remove it.

The sound of a blaring siren startled her and a booming voice came over the intercom system, advising everyone to make their way to the mess hall. Rey hadn't thought about food, but the growling in her stomach welcomed the announcement all the same. She exited her pod and filed out with the rest of the conscripts. The place was silent except for the hum of the air filters and the sound of their echoing footsteps. Beyond the officers and medical droid, she had yet to converse with anyone else. Her mission depended on her ability to gather intelligence. It was her hope that the mess hall would provide some opportunities to socialise with the others. Looking around for a friendly face, her eyes were drawn a tall male with messy short blond hair, a prominent nose and glasses. She could only see him in profile, but he looked non-threatening enough. His garishly orange utility vest made him stand out from the black and grey surroundings. Making her way over to stand next to him, she desperately tried to come up with a conversational ice-breaker.

"Err, um, are you in engineering too?" Rey cringed at her stilted delivery.

"I'm a Radar Technician," he replied, keeping his back to her, in a rich deep voice that sounded somewhat familiar to her ears.

"Do you have a name?" She questioned, feeling suspicion gnawing at her.

The tall man hesitated to reply.

"We don't have names here," he stated, "My identification code is MT-1983."

Rey heaved out a sigh of exasperation. Clearing her mind, she attempted to read his surface thoughts, but to her surprise, she came up blank. There was nothing emanating from him at all. For a sliver of a second, she thought she felt a familiar energy passing between them, only for the sensation to be over as soon as it began. She tried to get a better look at him, but he had begun to walk away and was quickly lost to her in the crowd. Grabbing her modest food rations, Rey scarfed them down without attempting to talk to anyone else. Afterwards, she returned to her pod. Her first work shift was due to start in six hours and she was tired. There was a nagging feeling of déjà vu in the back of her mind regarding her brief encounter with MT-1983. However, sleep claimed her before she could dwell too long on it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story in no way reflects what I expect to see in Episode VIII (except for the Reylo! ;-)). It is intended only as a fun diversion while we wait for 8 to arrive.
> 
> This isn't really a Matt, the Radar Technician fic as such, the story will be much broader than that. (MT-1983 = Matt + Adam Driver's year of birth, btw). But I loved that SNL sketch and the character fitted in with the plot of this story.
> 
> I do not own any of the characters or anything at all Star Wars related, except for a whole lot of merchandise and Kylo Ren Pop Vinyls! (Ka-ching Disney!)
> 
> I have part of the story written, so hopefully I'll be able to post regular (probably weekly) updates.
> 
> Thank you for taking the time to read this fanfic and please do leave a review. All constructive criticism is gratefully received. - Mrs. P


	2. Chapter 2

Rey hoped the jobs she was assigned would give her the opportunity to scout around the base. Removing the tracker turned out not to be a viable option because there were security sensors everywhere. She was going to need the chip to gain access to all the other areas outside the barracks. It would definitely make information gathering harder if she couldn't move about undetected. Rey growled with frustration as she pulled on her uniform. She couldn't help thinking her mission had been doomed from the start, which begged the question why she ever agreed to it. Giving in to negativity now she was in the thick of it would not help. Rey resolved to make the best of a bad situation by exploiting whatever opportunities fell into her path. With a sigh of resignation, she set off for her first work shift.

"The Communications Centre are experiencing problems with their air filters," the officer informed her, "Proceed to Hub 5, level 9, immediately. MT-1983 will escort you and assist you with your duties until you are familiar with the layout of the base."

The tall man with the messy blond hair, she briefly met the previous evening in the mess hall, was waiting for her by the turbolift. He did not turn around to greet her or attempt to make any small talk. Once they were inside the capsule, she stepped around him to get a look at his face. It was almost as if he was trying to hide his identity from her and she wanted to know the reason why. As soon as Rey took in the long faded scar that ran in a diagonal line from his forehead and across his right cheek down to his neck it all became clear. Her eyes widened as she let out an involuntary gasp. Beneath what was obviously a bad wig, she could see a few errant strands of his natural dark mane.

"It appears you do need a teacher, RK-1992," he mocked, his lips twitching to suppress a smirk, "At the very least, you need one that can teach you how to shield your force signature better than Luke Skywalker."

If this girl thought she could ever hide from him, she was much mistaken. He sensed her presence the moment she stepped onto the planet. It had taken all his restraint not to reveal himself to her the previous evening.

"You," she exclaimed, scanning around in vain for an escape route. "You look ridiculous," Rey derided him, determined to stand her ground against her enemy. "That disguise was never going to fool me, I can see right through you."

"It is not for your benefit," Kylo said in a waspish tone, "Since FN-2187…"

"Finn," she interjected.

"Since that traitor defected," he snarled, making his distaste obvious, "it has become necessary to employ other means to ensure loyalty and conformity among the lower ranks. Few people know the true face of Kylo Ren, they know only the mask."

Rey gave him a sceptical glance.

"You intend to terrify them into obedience with that silly wig, do you?" She sneered.

"I can see what is in their minds," he growled, showing his impatience with her mockery.

Anger surged within her as she recalled the way he had rifled through her private thoughts during their last encounter.

"Yes, you can take whatever you want, can't you?" Rey's sour tone caused him to flinch. It was a mere flicker in his expression from arrogance to something softer, but she caught it.

"Careful, scavenger," Kylo hissed, "anger is the path to the dark side."

She felt the stab of his insult and shame, as she glanced at his scar. It served as a reminder that rage once took her to a threshold she would not cross. Master Luke would counsel her to be mindful of her feelings and remain calm.

The turbolift came to a halt and the door slid open.

"I don't suppose we are going to the Communications Centre, are we?" Rey sighed, preparing herself to face interrogation or worse.

Kylo stepped out of the capsule and waited for her to join him.

"Where else would we be going?" He questioned, his usually expressive eyes blank behind the huge frames of his glasses.

Rey faltered. "Aren't I going to be your _guest_ , again?" She asked, "We are enemies after all. I gave you that scar, for goodness sake."

With his quick temper on the verge of ignition, Kylo gritted his teeth until it passed.

"Mo - -" he began and then corrected himself, "General Organa should not have sent you here. I know you came for information, but you won't get any. You need to do as I say until I can figure out a way to get you back where you belong."

"You aren't going to take me to Snoke?" Rey was stunned.

Kylo started down the corridor and gestured for her to follow him.

"No," he hissed in a low voice, "he would make us fight to the death."

Hot on his heels as he led them towards the Communication Centre, she couldn't resist another dig at him.

"What's the matter, afraid you'll lose again?"

"Perhaps it is you that should be afraid, of winning," he warned in a way that sent a chill straight to her heart.

Rey's mind was reeling. She followed him in silence, debating her next course of action. Walking past officers and other underlings, they did not stop until they reached the turbolift at the entrance to Hub 5.

"I intend to keep a close eye on you and make sure you stay out of trouble," Kylo warned, once they were alone in the capsule.

She scowled, "I don't trust you. How could I after what you did to Han? You killed your own father, and Finn was lucky to survive. You're a…"

"Monster?" he helpfully added, repeating what she'd labelled him as when they last met.

Rey risked a glance at his face; he had such sad eyes, glistening with emotion. Could it be that he felt remorse, she wondered. Not that it should matter to her, and yet, somehow, it did.

"General Hux will be leaving on a mission in a couple of days," Kylo informed her, "After he's gone, I'll find a way to get you off the base."

"Afraid of that big ginger scampweasel, are we?" She taunted, unable to hide her contempt for both of them.

If looks could kill, she would be stone dead.

"Hux has spies everywhere. Your presence here is far more dangerous to you and your friends than you know."

Kylo was struggling to contain his anger. His fists were clenched at his sides. She had never seen his hands without gloves. As he flexed his long fingers, Rey felt a tingling sensation that definitely wasn't fear. Wary of inflaming his temper any further, she decided cooperation was her best course of action, at least, until she could figure out an alternative plan.

"Fine," she said, "Let's go and fix some air filters."

* * *

There was some measure of privacy to their working environment inside the large metal ducts. Rey soon discovered that Kylo was neither use nor ornament when it came to fixing air filters. He kept handing her the wrong spanners and his rewiring straight up sucked.

"How were you and Han even related?" She let out an exasperated sigh as she set about correcting his botched work.

At the mention of his father's name, coupled with catching his elbow on a sharp corner, Kylo erupted and punched the metal wall hard enough to bruise his knuckles.

Rey drew back from him, ready to defend herself if necessary. He had been blocking her from sensing his emotions, but she didn't need the force to feel the rage radiating from him.

Kylo saw the alarm in her expression and rubbed at his still clenched fist.

"Don't ever speak his name in my presence again," he cautioned, keeping his voice low and menacing.

Turning her focus back to the air filters, she was determined not to converse with him about anything.

The silence stretched out between them until he could stand it no longer.

"I don't like your eyes that colour," Kylo complained in regard to her green lenses.

Rey kept her attention on her work, refusing to acknowledge him.

"And your hair," he continued, "it's all wrong. That shade doesn't suit you at all."

Kylo meant it as a compliment in his own way, but his delivery was so brusque, she didn't realise it. The whole situation was ridiculous to her. There she was, trapped in an air duct with her nemesis, and he was criticising her appearance.

With a scowl, she gestured to his wig.

"At least, I don't look like I'm wearing a dead nerf on my head."

Kylo was stony-faced, but then, slowly, his lips curved into a wide smile. The change in his appearance made her start with surprise. It illuminated his features in a way she would never have thought possible. Rey could actually see the light in him. Before she knew it, she was grinning back at him. The moment couldn't last, guilt over forgetting who and what he was, if only for a few seconds, caused her smile to vanish. It didn't seem right for her to be sharing such a moment with him, not after the wicked things he'd done. Kylo returned to his usual sullen demeanour; a fleeting look of disappointment in his eyes.

One of the officers yelled up through the vent to ask what was taking them so long. Fortunately, the job was almost completed. It was a bit too close for either of their comfort, working together in such a small space. With the air filters repaired, their next assignment flashed up on the maintenance data pad.

"A malfunctioning garbage compactor?" Rey grimaced at the prospect.

Kylo remembered a story his parents used to tell about being trapped inside one. It was after they had just met. Both claimed it was love at first sight. The memory of them kissing to gross him out brought the sting of tears to his eyes.

Rey sensed his distress and felt his grief. The intensity of it took her breath away before he managed to clamp down on it.

"What the hell was that?" She questioned, her breathing ragged as she sought to calm herself.

"Weakness," Kylo murmured as he reined back his emotions.

It was hard for her to keep seeing him as a monster when he looked so damn breakable at times. But she couldn't afford to see him as anything else. Her life and the lives of many others depended on it.

Their final job was fixing the water filtration unit in the officer's quarters. Rey was unsurprised to find it was nicer than the lower ranks' barracks, if still utilitarian. There were occasional viewing portals to let in some natural light. It wasn't all fluorescent and harsh like in the subterranean living quarters. Not that the planet they were on was particularly scenic. It seemed the stormy rain outside was incessant. Rey paused for a moment to watch the water droplets zig-zagging down the glass. Living on a desert planet for most of her life made witnessing such things a novelty.

After Kylo's earlier emotional lapse, hardly a word had been exchanged between them. He had seemingly turned to ice, shielding himself from her in every way. He appeared to be contemplating something; Rey could sense his conflicted feelings. It startled her when she heard his voice, low and deep, next to her ear.

"There's something I want to show you."

He strode off down the corridor, leaving her uncertain as to whether to follow him. When he turned back with a silent plea in his eyes, curiosity got the better of her.

"I'm hoping it's the plans to whatever new nasty surprise your Supreme Leader has in store for the galaxy. You know I wouldn't be here at all if we didn't need that information," she huffed, "Please, tell me you're not building an even bigger Starkiller?"

Kylo did not rise to her bait. He led her through a maze of corridors to what appeared to be a secluded area beyond the accommodations of the lower ranking officers. Pressing a code into a side panel, a door slid open. Rey hesitated on the threshold, a shiver going through her when she realised these were his private quarters.

"I shouldn't be here," she argued unable to stop herself from sneaking a peek inside.

His personal space was anything but, she mused. The black furnishings were sparse and functional.

He was stood in front of a plinth and beckoned her to join him. Rey couldn't deny her curiosity, honed as it was from years of scavenging. His enthusiasm was palpable; it was obviously something he regarded as special. Making her way over to his side, she recoiled slightly when she saw the item on display. The charred remains of a creepy mask weren't what she'd been expecting at all. Kylo was inordinately proud of it, she sensed. He expected her to be mindful of the honour he'd bestowed upon her by allowing her to see it. Rey's instinct was to flee, but she willed herself to be calm and still.

"This mask belonged to my grandfather," he explained, "it's all I have left of my family now."

Recalling the depth of sorrow in Luke and Leia's hearts because of him, her wrath could not be contained.

"What a load of Bantha Fodder!" Rey exclaimed, "You've got a mother who loves and misses you, even after you killed the love of her life. Not to mention an uncle who successfully brought your grandfather back to the light, and Luke still believes he can find a way to do the same for you."

Kylo slammed his fist down hard on the metal plinth.

"Do not speak of things you don't understand," he snarled, "You were right, you shouldn't be in here." His face twisted in rage as he gripped the edge of the plinth. Everything in the room that wasn't fixed in place began to shake and levitate.

Rey almost bolted, and then she thought better of it. In the absence of an alternative plan, she was going to need his help. Maybe she wasn't a fully-fledged Jedi yet, but after beating him once, she felt confident she could hold her own against him. Perhaps it wouldn't even be necessary to use the force.

"I can see your grandfather's mask means a lot to you," she said, daring to slip her hand over one of his clenched fists. "We should remember where we came from if we can."

Lost in reverie for a moment, Rey wished she knew something about her own family, good or bad.

Kylo glanced down with surprise at where her fingers were brushing soothingly over his. Taking a deep breath, his foul temper began to calm. The items in the room that were shaking or levitating fell back into place. Allowing himself to savour her touch for a few seconds, he heaved a reluctant sigh.

"We should get back to work."

The water filter was soon repaired and their shift was done. After the events in his quarters, Kylo was taciturn. He intended for them to go their separate ways after arriving at the turbolift to the barracks. Rey grabbed at his sleeve to stop him. There was a question she needed to be answered. He promised to get her off the base, but she was concerned for her immediate safety, particularly as she had to leave her lightsaber behind. Jedi mind tricks were a useful defence when it came to the weak minded. Unfortunately, not all there could be counted on to fall into that category. Glancing down to where her hand was clasping his arm, Kylo was again surprised by the contact. Upon noting his raised eyebrows, she promptly withdrew from him. Her action provoked a disappointed expression. The man was such a jumble of emotions; she didn't know what to make of him half the time.

"Why do they implant the females here with a contraceptive device?" Rey inquired in a low voice, blushing at having to ask him, of all people, that question.

Kylo joined her in turning a dark shade of red, but he soon recovered his composure.

"To prevent the lower ranks from breeding like womp rats, I should imagine," he sneered.

"Oh," she sighed, "I don't have to worry about being dragged off and made to join a harem for the officers' pleasure or anything, then?"

Rey couldn't meet his gaze; the intensity in his light brown eyes was too much. He was looking at her the way she used to eye Unkar Plutt's stash of portions back on Jakku when she was near to starving.

"I do believe that some of the higher ranks indulge in such...activities," he acknowledged, "but you won't be here long enough to catch the eye of any officers, I will make sure of that."

He neglected to mention that he would personally rip apart anyone who dared to touch her.

"Well, okay, goodnight, MT-1983," Rey muttered as she scurried away.

Kylo watched until the door to the turbolift closed, taking her from his yearning gaze.

* * *

Seated on her narrow cot, Rey reflected on the day's strange events. All wasn't lost regarding her mission; Kylo could provide the information she needed if she could get inside his head. He was more effective at shielding his thoughts than she was, but he did have chinks in his armour. The fleeting glimpses into his psyche had been full of rage, pain and misery. The latter was no more than he deserved, she bitterly concluded. For Han and for every other person he'd killed or injured, except, a monster wouldn't feel remorse. Rey sighed with frustration; Kylo Ren was such a contradiction. He had done such terrible things. It was impossible for her to reconcile the deep well of compassion she sensed he held inside him with the cold, calculating, creature in a mask he sought to present to the galaxy. She had seen his deepest fear; he was afraid he would never be as strong as Darth Vader. It had disturbed her to see the old relic Kylo kept in his room. But she also realised it wasn't something he would show to just anyone. His grandfather had turned back to the light, she knew that much. Luke told her all about his family history. Perhaps it wasn't too late for Kylo, either, or Ben Solo, Rey mused, as that was his true self. He was Han and Leia's son. Surely no one born of two such legendary heroes could be all bad? Her head hurt from trying to figure him out. With the time gradually creeping towards her next work shift, she needed to rest.

Sleep was proving elusive and she attempted to meditate. As she began slipping into a tranquil state, something disturbed her and pulled her back out again. It was a crushing feeling of loneliness such as she used to experience during her long nights on Jakku. Since meeting Finn and making other friends, in addition to finding kinship with Luke, Leia and the resistance, Rey no longer felt so alone. She was confused as to why she was feeling it again until she realised it was not emanating from her. Realising she was experiencing Kylo's despair through the force, she attempted to send him calming vibes. It must have worked as the disturbance ceased and Rey soon drifted into peaceful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am aiming for weekly updates, but I thought I would add another chapter now to get the story rolling a bit.
> 
> Yes, RK-1992 = a reference to the Rey Kenobi theories + Daisy Ridley's year of birth.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read this fic so far and leave a comment. Please do keep the feedback coming. - Mrs. P


	3. Chapter 3

Rey got ready for her work shift expecting Kylo would be waiting for her. She actually had butterflies in her stomach at the prospect. From the moment she awoke, a sense of anticipation was building within her. She wasn't sure if it originated in her or in Kylo. Perhaps they were both feeling it. Through a series of images, he communicated what she took to be his gratitude for the first peaceful night's sleep he'd had in forever. The bond between them appeared to be stronger the closer their proximity. He was able to block her out, except when his emotions got the better of him. She suspected she was less successful at doing the same. Luke often cautioned her that her feelings betrayed her. Rey was no longer certain of exactly what she felt for Kylo. Her mind went back to the first time she ever saw his face. It was shocking for her to see he was, if not conventionally handsome, attractive in a way that fascinated her. Even with the scar she gave him, his allure was not diminished. Quite the opposite, she found. It took a while, for her to be honest with herself about her attraction towards him. His behaviour was often monstrous and that's what she wanted to see behind his mask. Not Han's soulful eyes, Leia's proud chin, his full sensual lips and lustrous raven tresses. His sheer wickedness should have rendered him unattractive to her. Rey burned with shame at her private acknowledgment that it hadn't. Not that she could ever allow herself to fall for a murderer. It was abhorrent to her to even contemplate it after what he did to Han and Finn.

She anxiously glanced around while waiting for her work assignments. Kylo was nowhere in sight and she both longed to see him and dreaded it at the same time.

"RK-1992, you will proceed directly to H42 in the officer's quarters. Lieutenant Mitaka has reported a fault with the sanitation unit in his fresher."

Rey stared in confusion at the administrator as she was handed a maintenance datapad.

"Won't MT-1983 be accompanying me today?" She inquired unable to deny the stab of disappointment at the prospect he wouldn't.

The stern-looking woman in black uniform peered down at the information on her screen.

"He is attending to other duties."

With that, Rey was promptly dismissed.

As she made her way over to the turbolift feeling oddly crestfallen, Kylo's voice rang clearly in her head. The way he spoke her name, even distorted by the metallic rasp of his mask, made her heart skip a beat.

" _Rey, I know you can hear me. I have important business to attend to, but I will catch up with you later. Don't do anything foolish or I will know."_

It was the opportunity she had been waiting for to snoop around unhindered. There had to be something in Lieutenant Mitaka's room that might be of use to the resistance cause. Perhaps she could sneak a peek at some of the other restricted areas as she passed through them. Kylo had prevented her from gathering any intelligence thus far, but he wasn't there now. It was worth the risk of defying him to find out what the First Order was planning.

Firstly, Rey tried to find a terminal she could access. With the tools she was carrying, she hoped to hack into the mainframe. Unfortunately, there were too many officers milling around and her activities were in danger of attracting unwelcome attention. She hoped for some privacy once she reached her destination. Time was of the essence because her nemesis could return at any moment and thwart her plans. The entry code to H42 flashed up on her data pad and she keyed it in.

"Oh," she gasped, at finding Lieutenant Mitaka snoozing on his bed in a state of undress.

Her cheeks burned with embarrassment, and his did likewise.

"I'm sorry, I thought, that is - - I'm here to fix the sanitation unit," she squeaked, turning her head so he could put on his robe.

Once the young dark-haired officer was decent, he attempted to put her at ease.

"No harm done, I must have dozed off while I was waiting," he said, directing her towards the fresher, "I would like to take a shower before I'm due at the Command Centre."

Rey scurried past him to attend to the sanitation unit, hiding her face to avoid having to make eye contact. The fault was relatively straightforward and she was thankful for that. Mitaka loitered in the doorway, watching her work.

"I haven't seen you around here before," he said, adopting a flirtatious tone, "I'm sure I would have remembered such a pretty face."

His attempt at flattery made her uneasy, but she sensed no ill intent. She had to seize the opportunity to get some information from him. Reaching out through the force, Rey tried to get an idea of Kylo's whereabouts; it wouldn't do for him to interrupt her efforts. All she could detect was a strong feeling of anger, which pretty much seemed to be his default setting. She would have to take her chances and hope he was still otherwise occupied.

Finishing up her repairs to the sanitation unit, she turned to Mitaka.

"You will input your security clearance code into your terminal," Rey instructed with a wave of her hand, hoping the Jedi Mind Trick would work.

To her relief, he sat down at his workstation and did as he was told, so she pressed on.

"You will show me the current status of all First Order operations."

As she leaned in to get a better view of the data screen, she could see Mitaka's fingers hesitating above the keys as if he was attempting to resist. Rey repeated her instruction, keeping her focus on channelling the force. He soon relented and began calling up the data. The planet they were on was called Regnian; it was the First Order's main base. There were a few other outposts scattered around the Outer Rim territories, but they appeared to be nothing more than storage facilities. The only other item of interest was something codenamed 'Operation Shadow Wing'. Unfortunately, it was evident that the lieutenant didn't have security clearance to reveal anything but its name. With a grunt of frustration, Rey released him from her control.

"You can take that shower now," she informed him, "Your sanitation unit is fixed."

Mitaka was disorientated and as he stood up he stumbled into her, knocking them both onto his bed. He was apologetic, but his face lingered a little too long and close to hers. She squeaked with alarm as the door unexpectedly flew open. The next thing she knew, the young officer was lifted into the air while making choking noises and gasping for breath. When she saw the dark looming figure in the doorway, she immediately realised what was happening.

"Release him, right now," Rey demanded as Mitaka's lips began to turn blue.

Kylo was wearing his mask. It stared blankly at her as he maintained his invisible grip.

"Stop it," she shrieked as the hapless lieutenant's eyes started to bulge and roll back in his head.

Ren ignored her pleas, and so she turned her powers on him. With a forceful hand motion, she threw him hard against the door. It was enough to break his deadly grip on Mitaka who dropped to the ground. To her relief, she could see the young man was barely conscious but alive. Kylo looked set to resume his chokehold and so she hit the door release button and pushed him out into the corridor. For a moment, they were locked in a standoff; their hands held aloft as each tried to gain the advantage. The purring of a ginger cat broke their concentration and the stalemate. It stared up at them with disdain before slinking away. Ren anxiously glanced around for its owner, mindful of them being exposed to onlookers. He stomped off down the hall and gestured for her to follow him.

"Don't defy me," he growled through his mask when she didn't comply.

Rey didn't want to go anywhere with him. Her next maintenance job flashed up on the datapad providing her with a timely excuse to refuse his order.

"I have to report to Hub 3 right away," she said, catching up to him to show him the screen.

He ripped the device from her hand and inputted a code to override the command.

"Now you have nowhere to be but where I tell you. Follow me."

Kylo marched off leaving her little choice but to comply. He was leading her to his quarters, she recognised the route. A shiver ran through her. Whether it was fear or something else, Rey could not afford to dwell on it. Making sure she entered the room ahead of him, he secured the door.

"Tell me exactly what happened with Lieutenant Mitaka or I will get the information from him," Kylo demanded, his voice detached yet menacing through the mask.

"I won't tell you anything until I can see your face."

Her defiance caused his already fiery temper to flare but he complied all the same. The release mechanism hissed as he lifted the helmet from his head. His tousled dark locks fell free, framing his angular face. Rey blushed as she imagined running her fingers through his hair.

"I warned you not to do anything foolish," Kylo fixed her with a penetrating glare, "How far were you prepared to go to get information from him?"

Rey was outraged. "The force is my ally. If I wanted to get Mitaka to reveal First Order secrets, I wouldn't even have had to lay a hand on him, let alone anything else."

"And yet, he was on top of you."

Kylo's mouth twisted into a grimace of disgust.

"It was an accident, he fell," she argued.

"Onto your lips?"

His retort would have been comical in other circumstances, but he was shaking with barely contained rage. Rey knew he was jealous at the thought of another man touching her. A distraction was needed to keep him from delving any deeper or unleashing his temper. She warily eyed the lightsaber hanging from his belt. Not that she thought he would use it on her, but the poor lieutenant might suffer his wrath. Letting her gaze fall to his sensual pout, she contemplated the previously unthinkable.

"I did not kiss Mitaka," Rey said, hoping he would know it to be true.

With no attempt to shield her intentions, she took a step closer to him.

"You want to kiss me?" Kylo questioned with his eyes full of wonderment as he read her thoughts.

It was true, she did. No matter how much her brain was screaming that it was wrong. He wanted her so badly, the sheer depth of his yearning took her breath away. Desire overtook common sense and she grabbed him by the collar, yanking his mouth down to meet hers. Her lips moved sloppily over his, betraying her inexperience, not that he appeared to care. The shock of her boldness rendered him unresponsive at first. Rey slowly pulled back to find an expression of utter bewilderment on his face. After a moment of hesitation, Kylo peeled off his gloves and tentatively reached up to touch her face. His fingers gently brushed her cheek, caressing her skin reverentially. She mirrored his action, tracing carefully along the line of the scar she gave him. He moved to close the small gap between them, covering her lips with his. Neither of them had the confidence of experience, but it wasn't needed as instinct kicked in. Their tongues were soon duelling as fiercely as their lightsabers once had. Rey threaded her fingers through his thick wavy hair as they hungrily devoured each other. He held her tightly in his arms as if he feared she was an illusion that would fade away. Pausing to draw breath, Kylo's gaze fell upon the relic that was his grandfather's mask and he froze. Snoke had repeatedly taught him that Darth Vader's weakness was his compassion. The Empire fell because Anakin Skywalker could not destroy his son. Rey was the embodiment of the light that called to him. She was the temptation and the seduction made flesh. As the Supreme Leader's past warnings about giving into weakness echoed through his mind, Kylo recoiled from her.

"What's wrong?" Rey questioned, immediately wishing she hadn't enjoyed kissing him so much and afraid he was unimpressed by her novice technique.

It felt good to her, but he was her first. She didn't know he was similarly unpractised. Celibacy was expected, if not outright demanded, by Snoke.

"This is a distraction," Kylo said, unable to look her in the eyes for fear he would lose himself again, "Tomorrow, I will take you back to Zanddu. I assume you will be able to make your own way home from there."

Rey was left confused by his sudden coldness. His emotions had been placed firmly under lock and key. However, she was sure he could feel her hurt because she wasn't even attempting to conceal it. She mentally chided herself for being Bantha-brained enough to kiss him in the first place. Not to mention allowing him to return the favour. She certainly didn't want to think about how pleasurable she found the experience. Flirting with the dark side was bad enough, but his rejection was worse.

"That's it then, is it?"

Her clipped words dripped with ice.

"What did you expect would happen? Did you think we were going to walk off into the twin sunset together?" Kylo mocked, moving closer to the plinth which held his grandfather's mask as if to draw strength from it. "We are not on the same side."

"We could be," Rey argued, taking a step closer to him.

He retreated further from her.

"No," he insisted, "I will not be seduced."

"You already have been," Rey snarled, "This isn't where you belong. Snoke has been poisoning your mind since you were a defenceless child. But you're not a child anymore. Come with me."

"NO, the Supreme Leader is wise," Kylo echoed what he'd told his father, defiant denial blazing in his eyes.

With a weary sigh, she thrust her datapad into his hands.

"Fine," she snapped, "If that's the way you want to play it, you might as well let me get back to working on things I actually have a shot at fixing."

He was about to input a code when a shrill beep signalled there was someone at his door. The display screen revealed it to be General Hux. Kylo shoved the datapad back into Rey's hands and jabbed his finger towards the closet, indicating she should hide inside it. Once she was out of sight, he unlocked the door.

"What do you want?" He inquired, making his impatience clear.

The ginger-haired General bristled over the flagrant lack of respect shown for his rank. He pointedly glanced around the room and at the lightsaber hilt on Ren's belt.

"No need to call maintenance after all, then?" He jeered.

Kylo was alarmed for a second, fearing one of the General's spies had seen him with Rey. After reading Hux's surface thoughts, he was satisfied that wasn't the case.

"I said all I wanted to say to the Supreme Leader," Ren growled.

Hux rolled his eyes. "I will admit, I was against a clone army, initially," he said, "But thanks to that resistance scum, we have a lot of vacancies to fill. The pitiful waifs and strays we've picked up from all those backrocket planets will do for jobs where we don't want to waste good droids, but they won't be any use in setting the galaxy to rights. The reports from Project Blue Harvest are encouraging. It is proceeding well; you can be assured of that."

Kylo sensed for the second time that day the General was withholding vital information from him. His suspicions were raised during their daily audience with Snoke's hologram. Hux was expressly against him visiting the cloning site on Kamino. The Supreme Leader concurred, saying that Project Blue Harvest was in its infancy and the regular progress reports from the Kaminoans were more than satisfactory. He was sure they were purposely hiding something from him and he intended to find out what it was.

"If that's all, General, I have work to do."

Ren was mindful that Rey was hiding out in his closet. The fact she had heard information valuable to the resistance was a problem.

"There is one last thing before I go," Hux paused at the door.

"If you're about to ask me to take care of your nasty little _pet_ while you're away _,_ you can forget it."

Kylo hated it when that cat's ginger hairs got all over his black clothing.

The General was appalled by the idea.

"Lieutenant Hidalgo will be taking care of Millicent," he retorted, "I wouldn't trust you and your tantrums anywhere near her."

Ren still hadn't forgotten or forgiven the time the foul creature soiled the ash pit in his interrogation chamber back on Starkiller Base.

"No, I want you to keep an eye on Captain Zenon," Hux requested, "He's got ideas above his station, that one. I suppose it is only to be expected, he is my second-in-command, after all, and he learned from the best."

Kylo regarded his unwelcome guest with open contempt.

"Get your spies to watch him, I've got better things to do," he barked.

As soon as the General left, he locked the door.

"You can come out now," he called to Rey.

Throwing open the closet door, she appeared red-faced and perspiring.

"How many pairs of black leather trousers does one man need?" She inquired, gesturing at the garments hung on the rail. "I thought was going to suffocate in there."

Kylo was distracted. His loyalty to Snoke demanded that he should take her straight to him. She was a threat to everything, and yet, he knew he couldn't destroy her. Rey thought his distance was due to the kisses they'd shared. Her attempt at humour had been her way of trying to deflect attention from the awkwardness of the situation. Instead, she was left feeling even more humiliated.

"Fine, well, if we're done here," she huffed, "I ought to get back to work."

He silently took the datapad from her and inputted a code to reinstate her job schedule.

"We should not be seen together again," Kylo muttered as he checked the coast was clear outside his quarters. Hux is departing for his mission first thing tomorrow, and I have certain arrangements to make for our journey to Zanddu. I will signal to you through the force when it is time to leave."

Rey paused at the door; she had to try again. It wasn't what she'd be sent there for, but for Han, for Luke and Leia, for him, and maybe even for herself, she couldn't give up on him.

"Han wanted you to go home to the people who love you," She pressed on despite feeling his anger flare. "Forget Zanddu, why don't you take me to where your mother and uncle are?"

"Han Solo was weak and foolish, and now, he's dead," Kylo hissed.

She was the fool, vainly hoping that he would embrace the light he'd been fighting against for years. Rey turned to leave, the crushing realisation made her breath hitch as she tried to stop her tears from falling.

"I was right in what I said before," she sniffed, "you are a monster."

Peering down at the datapad through misty eyes, she read the words on the screen.

_RK-1992, Report to landing platform 3 to assist in maintenance checks on General Hux's command shuttle._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are numerous random Star Wars references scattered throughout this fanfic, such as "Blue Harvest" which was the production name for Return of The Jedi. No prizes for spotting them, I'm afraid, just the satisfaction of being a geek. ;D
> 
> Thank you to Pablo Hidalgo for helping me with a list of Star Wars specific cursing words, some of which are also sprinkled throughout this story. In gratitude, I have named a character in this chapter after him. As the creator of Millicent, I hope he will find it a fitting tribute.
> 
> Thank you to everyone taking the time to read this fanfic and leave comments and kudos, it's much appreciated. Please do keep the feedback coming. - Mrs. P


	4. Chapter 4

Rey glanced up at the shuttle; it was exactly like the one she saw Kylo arrive in back on Takodana. It was black inside and out, she noted, unsurprised as the First Order tended to the dark side in all things, including its colour scheme. The open ramp put her in mind of a gaping mouth, waiting to swallow her whole. A couple of Storm Troopers were loading supplies into the hold while a small group of four technicians checked the ion engines. One of them noticed her approach and called out to her.

"The databank says that you are experienced with all aspects of ship maintenance. Go inside and check the compressors and switches."

Proceeding up the ramp, Rey was glad to get to work; anything to take her mind off kissing Kylo. She cringed, imagining Finn's reaction if he ever found out about it. He would doubtless be horrified as he should be. Looking back on it, she could see it was a mistake and a distraction, Kylo was right about that. She was there for the resistance, not him. Past the heat of the moment, Rey couldn't rationalise what had possessed her to kiss him. Other than his sensual lips being so tempting, she conceded, and his sad soulful eyes captivating her from the moment she first saw them. The worse thing was it felt natural to be in his arms; as if they were meant to be together until he reminded her he was a monster. General Organa and Master Luke would be so disappointed at her lack of discipline.

Operating almost on autopilot, Rey was lost in her thoughts and missed the fact she'd attracted a curious onlooker. The sound of a soft meow startled her and snapped her out of her reverie. Recognising the ginger cat as the one she'd seen prowling around the officer's quarters, she wondered who in the First Order would have such a pet. The creature purred and wound itself around her leg, seeking attention.

"She's taken quite a shine to you," the crisp voice of General Hux made her start, "You should consider yourself honoured; Millicent is extremely particular. She doesn't bestow her favour lightly."

Reaching down to pet the cat, Rey threw him a nervous smile.

"I'm sure she gets her good taste from her master," she schmoozed in her best sycophantic tone.

Hux appeared gratified by the compliment, but she sensed suspicion of her in his surface thoughts.

"RK-1992," he observed as he scanned her tracker and checked the information displayed on his datapad, "I see you haven't been with us long."

"No, sir," Rey replied, attempting to mask her distaste, "but I'm certainly glad to be part of such a well-run organisation."

The General watched her with malign interest; his cold blue eyes narrowing in contemplation. There was something about the girl that set his alarm bells ringing. He noted she was growing increasingly uneasy under his scrutiny as there were beads of perspiration on her brow. She was trying too hard to project confidence but he saw her making clumsy errors.

Millicent began pawing at the exposed wires she was inspecting. "Oh no, you don't," she scooped the cat up and removed her from harm's way; "we wouldn't want you getting a nasty shock now, would we?"

Hux was thinking of interrogating her when the stomping of heavy footsteps echoed through the shuttle. Both of them turned to see the dark figure of Kylo Ren approaching. Feeling mild relief at his arrival, Rey wondered if he knew she was in a perilous situation through their bond. She hadn't consciously been calling him to her aid, but her mounting anxiety must have bled through to him.

"Ren," the General coldly greeted him, clearly annoyed by his presence, "I thought we had concluded our business for the day."

Rey could feel anger and uncertainty radiating from him, and even though he was wearing his mask, she could picture his tense expression.

"RK-1992, you were incorrectly assigned to this task," Kylo informed her, "There is a garbage chute in Hub 4, level 12, that needs unblocking."

He couldn't have given her a more unpleasant task, and yet, she was grateful all the same. Collecting up her tools, she scurried away from the two men's penetrating glares.

"Perhaps you should go and help her," Hux suggested, mockingly, "When you said you had work to do, I half expected you were continuing with your ridiculous masquerade as a, what was it again, ah, yes, a radar technician," he sniggered.

"We need to be vigilant after what happened with FN-2187. The Supreme Leader would not tolerate another failure," Kylo reminded him.

Snoke displayed a strangely fatalistic attitude over the loss of Starkiller Base. However, he was swift to convey that should such a thing happen again, one or both of them would pay for it with their lives.

Hux certainly hadn't forgotten even if he didn't want to make any concessions to Ren.

"Still, I'm sure the Supreme Leader wouldn't approve of you fraternising with the lower ranks. There's nothing you'd get from your little escapades that a trip to the torture chamber wouldn't uncover," he sneered.

Kylo scowled at him through the thin eye slit of his mask.

"That option is always available, but softer alternatives work just as effectively on the weak minded."

The General knew it would be unwise to provoke Ren's temper any further and was prepared to let the matter drop until the dark-sider got personal.

"You've got your little pet project and I've got mine," Kylo tilted his masked face menacingly in Millicent's direction, "I'm not sure the Supreme Leader would understand your fascination with that little fleabag. You know how he feels about personal attachments of any kind."

Hux scooped up the ginger cat and protectively cradled her to him.

"Supreme Leader Snoke wouldn't be interested in Millicent," he insisted as she purred contentedly in his arms.

"Perhaps not," Ren toyed with him, "or maybe he would ask you to ring her neck to prove your loyalty."

The General shuddered at the thought before recovering his stoic demeanour.

"Have a couple of the technicians go over and check my command shuttle," Kylo instructed as he prepared to leave.

"It's out of the question, I couldn't possibly spare them," Hux protested, "They can attend to your ship tomorrow, my mission takes priority. Besides, it's not as if you'll be going anywhere."

"I might wish to visit the Holocron Library or..."

"Personal interests do not take precedence over the Supreme Leader's orders," the General smugly reminded him.

"I was about to say that I may be called upon at a moment's notice by the Supreme Leader in my capacity as Master of the Knights of Ren," Kylo growled through his mask.

"I'll see what can be done," Hux grudgingly relented as he stroked Millicent's fur to calm his anger.

"Good," the dark-sider said, "I shall check on their progress after I've caught up with RK-1992."

The General's ears pricked up at the mention of her; his earlier suspicions having been temporarily forgotten. She checked out security-wise, but as a relatively new recruit, she required close monitoring. Resistance spies attempting to infiltrate the First Order were a major concern and he prided himself on his ability to personally sniff them out.

"You suspect her of something?" He inquired.

"No, but she seemed to know her way around a power coupling. Perhaps she can assist with the shuttle maintenance. Actually, now that I think of it, I'm more than qualified to inspect my own ship," Ren added as if it was a spontaneous idea and not something he'd been plotting, "I wouldn't want the technicians to miss any faults on your shuttle because they were hurrying to get to mine. It would be a shame if anything were to happen to you."

"Likewise, I'm sure," the General sniped as he watched the dark-sider depart.

One day, he swore he would have the satisfaction of witnessing the downfall of Kylo Ren. Smirking at the memory of finding him slashed and bleeding on Starkiller Base at the hands of a scavenger, his mood was cheered. The girl was Ren's weakness and she couldn't hide from the First Order forever. Little did he realise the prize he sought was already within his grasp. Hux hoped Lieutenant Mitaka would have an interesting snippet of information for him. He had many spies positioned throughout the ranks. If his father taught him anything, it was to be one step ahead of the competition at all times. It was a lesson he took to heart and the reason he was able to provide Project Blue Harvest with the perfect genetic template for replication. The General was filled with a malicious kind of glee as he imagined Ren's horrified reaction when the clone army was finally revealed. It was a blow to lose such a powerful weapon as Starkiller, but such things were replaceable, and soon, they would have something even better.

* * *

Rey checked the manual controls as Kylo sat in silent contemplation in one of the passenger seats. His command shuttle was docked on landing platform 7. It was well away from Hux and relatively deserted, apart from a couple of maintenance droids. Hardly a word had been exchanged between them since he intervened to remove her from the General's unwelcome scrutiny. Kylo arrived at Hub 4 as she was finishing up with the blocked garbage chute. The tentacled dianoga that dwelled in there was the source of the trouble. Once it moved position to feast on other waste, the blockage was cleared. She hoped to see him in the guise of MT-1983 but he was still garbed in his usual black robes and mask. Rey followed him to the landing platform, sensing his annoyance at the need to intervene with Hux and some apprehension that his secret plotting might be uncovered. But he didn't seek to put distance between them again. He merely continued to sit occupied with his own thoughts, blocking her out.

Staring at the seat beside him, Kylo recalled how he placed Rey in it when he transported her from Takodana. He refused to have her restrained, instead using the force to lull her back to sleep whenever she stirred. From the moment he set eyes on her, even before that, he wanted to keep her near. At first, it was inexplicable to him, the pull he felt towards her. When she caught his grandfather's lightsaber, he knew she was the one. He also knew Snoke would want to turn her or crush her and it meant certain death for one of them. In his wildest fantasies, he had imagined seducing her to his side. But the only way to be sure of keeping her would be to kill the Supreme Leader, and he feared he wasn't strong enough to do that. If Rey would not turn, Kylo would be ordered to kill her, and if she did, she would be ordered to kill him. Snoke might just make them fight to the death and keep whoever emerged victorious. He only needed one of them to be his prize and he would break her in time.

The memory of him chasing her through the Takodana woods made Rey shudder. She had felt so powerless when he used the force to freeze her and render her unconscious. But if he hadn't captured her and forced himself into her mind, she might never have known her own strength. It was a defining moment for both of them. From then on, they were bound together by an invisible thread. Rey wasn't sure what made her think back to the first time she saw him. Perhaps it was the surroundings. She had no conscious recollection of being in his command shuttle before, all she could remember was a vague sense of feeling protected.

"I did not wish to harm you," Kylo's modified voice through the mask made her jump after such a long stretch of silence, "Much depended on me getting that map."

Rey threw him a harsh glance and then continued with her work.

It didn't hurt when he peered into her mind now, even if he did so uninvited. Whether he wanted to hurt her in the past or not was irrelevant because he had caused her pain. Her own discomfort, she might be able to forgive, and even the damage he inflicted on Finn. However, what he did to Han was something else altogether. He bitterly regretted it, she could sense that much, and he suffered daily, but what was done was done.

"Aren't we just delaying the inevitable?" Rey asked as she pondered where the intelligence she had gathered would lead her.

If she could get back safely to the resistance, she had much to tell them and they would want to take out as much of the First Order's infrastructure as possible. General Organa was already preparing for such a move. There would be battles and at some point, she would come face to face with her dark shadow again. Neither of them would be able to run away from that fight when it came.

Kylo had his mind on more personal matters. He thought for a moment that she was referring to something else entirely. As much as he'd tried to banish the memory of their kisses from his mind, it was all he could think about. Cursing himself for being weak like Anakin Skywalker, his eyes filled with tears. He killed his father in the hopes of being freed from this pain, and it was worse now than ever.

"Go," he roared, "get out of here."

His gloved hands were gripping so tight onto the back of the pilot's seat; they were shaking from the effort.

The sensible thing would have been to run. Rey considered it, but there were things she needed to say.

"One day, you will have to kill me, or I will have to kill you," she pressed on, knowing it was unwise to provoke him when he was at the edge of his self-control. "This doesn't end until either the resistance or the First Order is crushed."

Kylo was hunched over; his head bowed as if the weight of the helmet he wore was suddenly too much to bear.

"You will run and you will keep running. Every time you sense me near, you will get as far away from me as you can," he said, the desperation in his tone coming through despite the modulation.

Rey didn't know how he bore so much pain day after day. The small taste she got through the force was more than she could stand. He was breaking apart and she might be the only one who could hold him together. Hesitantly reaching out her hand, she laid it on his shoulder. Kylo shrank from her touch, not because he didn't want to embrace her, but he feared he would be unable to let her go. All the certainties he had built up in his mind were crumbling. Everything he sacrificed to follow Snoke and salvage his grandfather's legacy would be for nothing if he gave into his desires now. But, oh, how he wanted to kiss Rey one last time. Stung by his rejection, she had already returned to her work. The maintenance was almost complete and Kylo would soon have to send her back to the barracks. Tomorrow, he would take her far away from this place. It was too late for anything else and the choice before him now was never setting eyes on her again or being forced to fight her to the death. He wasn't sure, when he contemplated it, which was the worse fate.

The growling of her stomach caused Rey to blush, she hadn't realised how long it had been since her meagre breakfast rations.

"I would not see you starve," Kylo saw the wisdom in sending her away, "go and get your evening meal, I will finish up here."

Feeling hungry and unwanted, she didn't argue and began to pack her tools away.

"Remember, as soon as General Hux has departed, I will find a way to get you brought here to my shuttle. Be ready for my signal."

She nodded her understanding as he walked with her to the landing platform.

"Until tomorrow then."

With one last lingering look, Rey left him standing alone.

* * *

Lieutenant Dopheld Mitaka gulped as he arrived outside General Hux's private command headquarters. His orders were to report directly after his shift at the command centre ended regardless of the lateness of the hour. He always got nervous when summoned by a superior officer, even though he was sure he hadn't done anything wrong. His throat was scratchy after his bruising encounter with Kylo Ren. He didn't know exactly why he had incurred the dark-sider's wrath but feared he was about to find out.

"Ah, there you are, lieutenant," Hux was seated behind his desk with Millicent on his lap, "As you know, I shall be away on important business for the next few days and I didn't want to miss our weekly tête-à-tête." He didn't invite his guest to sit although there was an empty chair. "I do hope you've got something to tell me that will make up for my long wait."

The dark-haired officer was literally quaking in his boots.

"My apologies, sir, but I really don't think I have anything of consequence to report," he confessed with sweat trickling down his brow.

The General set his beloved pet down in her basket and stood up.

"You are my eyes and ears among the lower ranks," he fixed the lieutenant with an icy glare, "I rely on you to keep me informed of all that I ought to know, no matter how insignificant it might appear." Hux pinched the bridge of his nose; it was late and he had a busy schedule. "It's been a trying day," he sighed, "and I would very much like some good news."

Mitaka got the message that he was in no mood for disappointment and racked his brains for any crumb worthy of mentioning.

"There was something," the lieutenant hesitated, wondering if it was wise to relate what occurred with Kylo Ren, but he had nothing else to offer, "It all began when RK-1992 came to repair the sanitation unit in my fresher."

_That girl again,_ Hux knew his instincts were right.

"Tell me every detail," he commanded, "leave nothing out."

* * *

Despite being as weary as an overworked Bantha, Rey couldn't sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, visions of Kylo swam before them. From the kisses they had shared to his display of anguish, she couldn't get him out of her mind. It was beyond foolishness on her part to allow things to get so personal between them. Although the bond they shared already meant that he saw her in a way no one else did or could. She felt it must be the same for him despite his repeated rejection. Kylo couldn't sleep, either. She could feel his restlessness alongside her own. Perhaps she was keeping him awake or vice versa. With him so close, she couldn't be sure where her feelings ended and his began. The attraction between them was mutual, though, of that she was certain. He didn't want to admit it any more than she did, but there it was. Taking deep breaths, Rey focused on each one to block out her troublesome thoughts. The next thing she knew, she was walking in a dream. Who was dreaming, she couldn't be sure, perhaps they were sharing it.

_The shapeless shift she wore was now a revealing white nightdress. Strands of her ash brown hair, freed from its usual braids, kissed her bare shoulders. There was a long darkened corridor and at the end of it, a door had been left ajar. The soft glow of amber light beckoned her on. Hesitantly, she stepped towards it, knowing that something forbidden lay beyond. The room she entered was familiar to her. Passing the plinth that bore the charred remains of the black mask, Rey could see the outline of a dark figure on a bed. She knew who it was, and yet, she couldn't stop herself from inching closer._

_Kylo appeared tense even in slumber. His fists were clenched and his face twisted as if in silent agony. Tears glistened on his pale cheeks. Rey came to a halt a few feet away from where he lay. His raven tresses fanned out against the black silk pillow. Her fingers twitched at her sides, longing to bury them in his mane as she had done earlier that day. It was wrong, she knew, that she should feel anything for him but revulsion and it stilled her hands from reaching out to him. He ignited something deep within her that no man ever had before and it terrified her. She was angry that she couldn't hate him. Not because being a Jedi apprentice didn't allow it, but because she didn't feel it, even after everything he had done._

_Stirring in his sleep, Kylo gripped at his thin bedsheet and muttered something she couldn't quite make out. It might have been her name, but she had never actually heard it from his lips before. His eyes flew open and widened in shock at the sight of her stood next to his bed. Rey felt rooted to the spot, like when he'd force frozen her on Takodana. Kylo took a shuddering breath and tentatively reached out his hand to her. She stared down at it, her own was so small in comparison and if he chose to, he could crush the life right out of her. The small gap between them might as well have been as wide as the galaxy._

" _I can't," she whispered, "you said it yourself; we're not on the same side."_

" _You're here now," Kylo said; hope shining in his glistening eyes, "Stay."_

_Rey shook her head, "No," she was determined, "You won't embrace the light and I will not surrender to the dark."_

_He shifted closer to her, the bedsheet falling down to expose his bare chest. "Maybe we could meet in the middle?"_

_Dream or not, she couldn't let him take her innocence. Despite his offered help, he was still otherwise under Snoke's command. Rey sighed with frustration; she found it easier to stop herself from killing him back on Starkiller Base than to walk away from him when the ground wasn't splitting between them. The force was thrumming inside of her, connecting her to him. Beyond the sexual arousal that was radiating from them both in turbulent waves, she sensed a deeper longing inside of him._

" _Please, let me hold you."_

_His words echoed through her mind and the yearning was reflected in his eyes._

" _It's all I want," he said aloud and in earnest._

_Rey pondered his request; the dark side probably didn't go in much for hugging. Kylo craved it like a man crawling through hot sand for days would crave water. She sensed no danger; it wasn't a trick. The tiny flicker of light within him might yet be fanned into a flame. She moved slowly to sit down beside him. Compassion was the Jedi way and only love could conquer hate. He nervously swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing as his breathing quickened. His arms closed around her, his fingers tangling in her hair. Rey mirrored his actions, her hands rubbing soothing circles on his bare back. She brushed the ridge of the scar on his face against her soft cheek. The time came to a halt as they held fast to each other. Darkness and light swirled and merged into one. In the grey, they found peace._

Rey was rudely pulled from her slumber by a blaring alarm. She awoke alone on her narrow cot; her empty arms aching for the man she embraced in her dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your continued support and to everyone leaving comments and kudos, it's much appreciated.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter contains some spoilers from Bloodline by Claudia Gray. I haven't read the book yet, only extracts on Tumblr, but I look forward to receiving the copy I've pre-ordered, next week.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who is continuing to follow this story. Please do leave a review, it would be much appreciated. - Mrs. P :-)

General Hux was in a quandary; should he have RK-1992 taken to the cells or not? Mitaka had only provided sketchy details of his encounter with the girl and Kylo Ren. The Jedi Mind Trick prevented him from recalling much about their interaction. He remembered finding himself in a compromising position with RK-1992 and then being discovered by Ren, the rest was a blank. The lieutenant's rough treatment at the hands of the dark-sider wasn't exactly uncommon practice, even if he was more prone to taking his anger out on property rather than personnel. Hux thought it odd that Ren hadn't sensed anything amiss with the girl. Still, there was a definite suggestion that she wasn't all she appeared to be. With his important mission to oversee the final preparations in the first stage of Operation Shadow Wing, the General didn't need any distractions. He decided to err on the side of caution and have her imprisoned.

Having been jolted from a pleasant dream, Rey was disorientated when her pod was invaded by a couple of Stormtroopers. There were more outside, but her small quarters would only allow two of them admittance.

"RK-1992, you will get dressed and come with us," one of them commanded; his blaster at the ready.

She didn't know what to think. Was this Kylo's signal to her? Would they take her directly to his command shuttle? Hearing him speaking in her head was a new thing through their bond, he'd only done it once, and that was the previous day. Mostly, it had been images and feelings that they exchanged. Their shared dream was something new, as well. Rey wondered if she could transmit words directly into his mind. He came to her aid when General Hux was taking too much interest in her, so she must have unconsciously managed to summon him. She decided to give it a try. Closing her eyes, she attempted to communicate her situation to him, requesting confirmation that he was behind it. The Stormtroopers had afforded her some small measure of privacy to get changed by turning to face the door. Swiftly pulling on her uniform and divesting of her shift, Rey slipped on her boots. Her hair hung loose and she thought about braiding it as a delaying tactic but was ordered to leave it.

"Where are you taking me?" She questioned, having received no acknowledgment from Kylo.

She was marched out of her pod and through the barracks to the turbolift. No explanation was forthcoming and she stopped asking for one. Having passed the turn for the shuttle landing platforms, it was clear that wasn't where they were taking her. Panic began to rise in her chest and her heart was hammering. There was no way she could subdue half a dozen Stormtroopers with the force. A Jedi mind trick might work on one or two, at the most. If she could get her hands on a blaster, her odds of escape might improve. But she was deep in enemy territory and without Kylo Ren's help, she wouldn't get very far. Rey once again attempted to contact him through their bond. If he was able to feel her relatively mild distress before, he should definitely sense her alarm now.

Arriving at Hub 4, she was directed into the turbolift. She watched with increasing unease as it descended to level 13. Dread gripped her even before she was led out into the passageway. A silver-armoured Stormtrooper who seemed to have authority over the rest was awaiting her arrival. Finn had told her about Captain Phasma, and she was sure that's who stood before her.

"RK-1992, you are to be detained here indefinitely under orders from General Hux," a stern female voice informed her.

Rey opened her mouth to protest, but she didn't get the chance to speak. There was a small dimly lit cell ahead of her, and she was thrown into it. The door clanged shut behind her, leaving her in a trembling heap on the cold floor.

* * *

Kylo grabbed his lightsaber hilt from his belt and ignited it. Lashing out in a blinding rage, he slashed randomly at walls and furnishings. His plans to get Rey off the base and find out what was happening on Kamino were unravelling. She was locked in a cell at Hux's command and he had yet to determine the reason for her incarceration. The General departed for his mission while Ren was lost to his dreams. It was possible Hux suspected something and had shared his suspicions with their superior. Defying Snoke's orders regarding Project Blue Harvest were one thing, but harbouring and abetting Luke Skywalker's new Jedi padawan would be the ultimate betrayal in the Supreme Leader's eyes. Perhaps he already knew. Kylo had considered that possibility. His mental shields might not be as strong as he hoped. Snoke sensed his compassion for the girl long before he admitted it to himself and always seemed to anticipate his every move. Since he and Rey had unwittingly forged their bond, he felt the Supreme Leader's hold on him weaken. She was a much more pleasant presence in his mind. But perhaps he was fooling himself, and Snoke was merely biding his time.

There was a choice before Kylo between going with his head or his heart. His determination to salvage his grandfather's legacy and restore peace to the galaxy was wavering. The First Order was no better than the New Republic he'd come to despise. He had thrown his lot in with them under Snoke's guidance, but he could not support all of their methods. Starkiller Base was used to crush star systems, not bring them to order. There was no peace and no end in sight to the wars that wrought havoc across the galaxy. Kylo could see that power brought corruption, no matter who was wielding it. The Old Republic, the Jedi, the Empire, and the New Republic all fell, and the First Order had already suffered heavy losses for its hubris. Snoke promised so much and delivered so little, but Kylo knew he couldn't take back what he'd done in service of the Supreme Leader. His family would surely never forgive him, and Rey was on the path to becoming a Jedi. She would not be able to love him the way he wanted. Her desperate pleas were ringing in his head, she was pinning her hopes on him coming to her rescue. He extinguished his lightsaber and clipped it back on his belt. Dragging a battered old box out from under his bed, he removed two items from inside. He lingered briefly beside his grandfather's mask as he put on his own. His choice was already made and he could not run from it.

Stalking down the passage that led to the cells, Kylo was met by Captain Phasma.

"Sir, I wasn't expecting you," she stood to attention, "how can I help you?"

"You will release RK-1992 right now," he intoned through his mask.

The Captain did not comply.

"General Hux left instructions to keep that prisoner in isolation until his return."

"I am in command," Ren reminded her, "and I will not ask again, release RK-1992, now."

Phasma wasn't about to risk getting on the wrong end of his lightsaber. She led him through the cell block and keyed in the code to open the correct door.

Rey was sat hunched over in the corner. She blinked as her eyes adjusted to the light.

Kylo drank in the sight of her with her long hair falling onto her shoulders, just like in the dream they'd shared.

"RK-1992, you will come with me," he instructed her.

"Sir, the prisoner should be placed in restraints," Phasma objected as the dark-sider and the girl headed for the turbolift.

Ren was well known for disregarding proper protocol but this was highly irregular.

Kylo waved away her concerns.

"I will take full responsibility, Captain," he assured her, "RK-1992 is no longer your problem."

The turbolift arrived and Phasma watched as they boarded it. She saw no sense in arguing but she would be submitting a full report to General Hux at the earliest opportunity.

Rey let out a sigh of relief as the capsule started to ascend.

"I'm guessing that wasn't part of your plan," she quipped as Kylo punched a code into the datapad.

He was agitated, she didn't need the force bond to know that much.

"We have to get to the shuttle as soon as possible," he suspected Hux's spies would be hot on their trail, "Take this," he said as he unclipped a lightsaber hilt from his belt and handed it to her. "I'm not expecting trouble, but just in case."

Rey glanced down with surprise, tentatively reaching out to take it.

"Who did this belong to?" she questioned, frowning at the unwelcome image that popped into her head of him killing someone for it.

"There's no time to go into the history of it now," Kylo knew what she was thinking, "And, yes, the previous owner is dead, but I was not the one who struck him down."

Rey was not comforted by his words, even though she could tell he'd spoken the truth. She took a closer look at the lightsaber. There was something about it that was familiar to her on some level, which was absurd as she had never set eyes on it before. The turbolift came to a halt and there was no time to dwell on it any further. She tucked it out of sight in her utility belt and followed her dark saviour to the landing platform. The pair of them drew some curious glances from passing officers and other personnel, but none of them dared to stop Kylo Ren in his tracks. Once they were inside his command shuttle, he directed her towards an area he had set up next to the small cargo hold. He removed his helmet and cast it aside, letting it clunk to the floor.

"I have a change of clothes for you," he pointed towards a small black case, "but first, I need to remove your tracking chip."

Kylo picked up a fearsome looking spiked implement as he motioned for her to roll up her sleeve. He clasped her arm firmly as she looked on with apprehension.

"It will sting," he warned, "Do you wish me to also remove the other implant?"

A slight blush crept over his cheeks at the reference to the contraceptive device.

Rey was taken aback by his question and her face began glowing with embarrassment.

"I - I, well, it's not as if I need it," she stuttered, although as she caught his gaze, she wondered if she might. The inappropriateness of that thought added to her discomfort, but it could not be ignored. "Maybe you should leave it for now," she muttered as casually as she could manage, "Better safe than sorry."

Sparing any further blushes from either of them, Kylo extracted the tracker. She sucked in a breath at the sharp pain as it was plucked from her arm. There was a bead of blood over the small incision and he pressed a bacta pad over it. Crushing the tracker to dust, he indicated towards the black case.

"Get changed," he commanded, "and place your old clothing into the trash compactor."

Rey released the clasp on the case and eyed the First Order uniform inside with disgust.

"Do I really have to wear that?" she frowned.

"There is somewhere I need to go before I take you to Zanddu," he did not elaborate, "You will need to look the part."

It was a risky detour, but he sensed a disturbance in the force. The answers he sought were to be found on Kamino, of that he was sure.

Rey wanted to question him further, but he was already heading towards the flight control panel. Reluctantly, she picked up the uniform and looked around for a suitable place to undress.

"I won't look," Kylo promised as sat down in the pilot's seat.

He had already removed the tracking device from his belt and disabled the shuttle's tracker. High command would be alerted the minute he requested for the shields to be lowered so they could leave the planet. It would only be a matter of time before Snoke was informed and an attempt made to track them down. He punched the coordinates into the navicom and fired up the ion engines. Rey came and sat in the co-pilot's seat, her unease with the clothing she was wearing apparent. The lightsaber he gave her was lying in her lap.

"Are you sure you know how to fly this thing?" She teased.

He rolled his eyes; he was the grandson of Anakin Skywalker and the son of Han Solo, he could fly anything.

"Let's find out," Kylo half-smirked as he flipped the launch switches.

As the shuttle ascended above the rainclouds, a voice came over the comlink requesting the authorisation code for the shields. Anxiously, he watched the data screen to make sure they were lowered. He felt some measure of relief when they were clear of Regnian's atmosphere and out into space. Engaging the hyperdrive, he turned to his companion to find her fidgeting with the small circular holoprojector he'd placed on the console.

"Activate it," he urged, sensing her curiosity about its contents.

Rey wasn't sure what to expect. In her mind's eye, she briefly pictured a Solo family portrait from happier times. Clicking the button, she was surprised by the blue-tinged hologram that appeared. The image was of a beautiful young woman with a cascade of long curly hair. She was smiling, but there was something in her eyes that spoke of sadness. Rey felt a strange twisting in her gut at the idea Kylo might have a lost love somewhere out in the galaxy.

"Her name was Padmé Amidala Naberrie," he explained, "She was elected Queen of Naboo when she was only fourteen years old."

"Your grandmother," Rey exclaimed with some relief, recalling Luke's mention of her when he told the tale of the Skywalker family history.

Examining the hologram with renewed interest, she noted some resemblance in her grandson. It was in their careworn expressions as both looked to be carrying the weight of the galaxy on their shoulders.

"I short while ago, I found a box which once belonged to my grandfather. It was kept in a secret vault on Coruscant. There were three items inside it, including that hologram and the lightsaber I gave you."

Kylo reached over to take it from her lap and then he laid it on the console in front of them.

"Who did it belong to?" Rey asked, feeling another unsettling jolt of familiarity as she ran her finger over the hilt.

"The third item in the box was a journal," he revealed, "there were only two entries in it; one written as if to my grandmother and the other, to his old Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. That lightsaber belonged to him. My grandfather took possession of it after his death."

"Your grandfather killed Obi-Wan Kenobi," she grimaced as she pictured the scene Luke described to her of him watching his old master being cut down.

She didn't have to look too hard to see the family resemblance between grandfather and grandson. Recalling the horrific moment she witnessed Han Solo being impaled by his son's fiery lightsaber, her face twisted with disgust.

Kylo was angered by her reaction.

"You know who Darth Vader was," he spat, "And you know who I am. No one lied to you, did they? Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa and Han Solo, they all told you the truth about my family history, a courtesy they denied me."

Rey could feel his hurt, the pain still raw after all those years. He wasn't always Kylo Ren; there was a point when he turned and a reason for it. Raking over the past wasn't going to do any good, not when he was holding onto so much bitterness about it. Her gaze returned to the hologram of Padmé.

"Your grandmother was very beautiful," she observed, "I guess your grandfather must have loved her very much before he turned to the dark-side."

"And long after that," Kylo added with a woeful sigh.

He recalled reading the journal entries left behind by Darth Vader. His true feelings for Padmé and Obi-Wan Kenobi were written on those pages. Upon discovering that Emperor Palpatine had lied to him regarding the circumstances of his wife's death, he had confessed the secrets of his heart and then locked them away in a box. As Ren stole a glance at the young woman sitting beside him, he wondered if he was attempting to do the same. She had awoken something within him, something he might dare to think of as love. But to confess it would be selfish when they could never be together. It didn't stop him longing to take her in his arms. He wanted to kiss her and tell her she was the missing piece that made him feel whole.

"You were my light, my life, my love, and I, unworthy of such an angel," Kylo recited his grandfather's words from memory, recognising the tragic irony of how well they fitted his own situation.

Tears sprung to Rey's eyes and she instinctively reached out to cover his hand with hers.

"No one who could feel such things could be entirely a monster," she gazed at him with a hopeful expression, "Anakin Skywalker found his way back to the light, you do believe that, don't you?"

Kylo nodded, hanging his head.

"I had been lied to for so long; I didn't want to hear it. Snoke told me it was my grandfather's folly that led to the fall of the Empire. He said that if the father had killed the son, he would have one day ruled the galaxy and brought everlasting peace to it. In my anger over my family's betrayal and perceived treachery, I let Snoke persuade me that it was my destiny to succeed where Darth Vader had failed," he confessed.

"Is that why you killed your father?" Rey asked as a tear rolled down her cheek.

His face crumpled in anguish.

"Snoke is using you just like Han warned," she said, "You have to break free."

"I can't, Rey," he said, sounding pained, "I have to go back to him or he will hunt us down and unleash hell. You don't know what he is capable of and the weapons he has at his disposal. He will punish me for this, but he still needs me."

"No," she protested, gripping his hand tighter, "You don't belong with Snoke or the First Order. Come back with me to your mother and uncle, we'll find a way to defeat them together."

"You think the resistance are going to welcome Kylo Ren with open arms?" he questioned, mockingly, "The truth about Leia Organa's father ruined her political career and reputation, what do you think revealing the truth about her son will do to her?"

Rey knew his double identity was not common knowledge. Besides herself, outside of the family and a few close friends, only Poe and Finn knew.

"No one has to know," she argued, "You can be Ben Solo again."

"No," he snarled, "I won't live another lie, there's been too much of that in my family. I made my choice a long time ago and I have to abide by it. I've got too much blood on my hands to play the hero now."

She opened her mouth to offer up another argument, but the words wouldn't come. He had killed his own father and countless others in service of Snoke and the First Order. Maybe he was right and it was too late for him to turn back. Rey couldn't accept that. She was determined to convince him when there was a beeping noise from the console to indicate they were coming up on their destination. Kylo brought them out of hyperspace and engaged the manual controls. It was time to find out what was happening on Kamino.


	6. Chapter 6

Rey briefly studied the navigational chart on the data screen.

"We're going to Kamino?"

She frowned, feeling a deep sense of unease about it that she was sure wasn't all her own.

"I know you heard Hux talking to me about Project Blue Harvest and you'll pass that information on to General Organa. If my hunch is proved right, well, let's just say I might be able to save her the trouble of destroying it."

Kylo didn't have a plan. But if, as he suspected from what he was sensing through the force, things were not as they should be, he couldn't just let it go.

"What do you mean?" Rey questioned, "I got the impression the clone army was your idea."

"And so it was," he confirmed, "I argued for the creation of such an army long before the defection of FN-2187..."

"Finn," she reminded him.

He bristled at her insistent tone.

"You care for him," Kylo didn't attempt to hide his envy. "You love him, don't you?"

Rey knew what he was really asking and considered herself under no obligation to ease his suffering. He had no claim on her, and yet, there was something in his eyes that made her heart melt.

"Finn is my best and dearest friend," she declared, "and I do love him - - as if he were my brother."

Kylo took her meaning with no small amount of relief. As their eyes met, he became overwhelmed by the urge to kiss her. She sensed his desire and was left disappointed when he let the moment pass without acting on it.

"You are training to be a Jedi," he stated, sharply turning his head away to fully break the spell. "There's no place in that life for personal attachments."

That was one of the things about the Jedi that greatly bothered Rey. She had already spent too many years in enforced solitude to embrace a future without a family of her own or close personal friends.

"I know how it feels to be lonely," she sighed, the memories of her long years on Jakku never far from her mind, "So alone that you might as well be the only person left alive in all the galaxy, and I know you feel it too."

Kylo recalled how almost giddy he became the first time he looked inside her head. He saw her life of isolation in painful clarity and recognised her pain as his own. Up until that point, he'd never met anyone who felt exactly the way he did, let alone a pretty young woman. He blinked back the emotion that stung his eyes and concentrated on the viewing shield. The shuttle was fast approaching Kamino's atmosphere and he made the necessary adjustments to their flight path. Descending into a stormy charcoal sky, the shuttle was buffeted by lashing rain and frequent flashes of blue lightning. The ocean below them foamed and frothed as it got churned by the tempest. Kylo checked the sensors for life signs and homed in on the strongest signature. Reaching out through the force, he knew he was on the right track. The closer they got, the stronger the disturbance he detected.

"There's something wrong here," he murmured not meaning to speak the words out loud.

Rey was alarmed; it seemed like an unnecessary risk to take when time was of the essence.

"If it's dangerous we shouldn't stay," she argued, "You should take me to the resistance base and we'll work something out together to deal with Snoke."

Kylo wasn't listening to her, his eyes were wild and his skin was itching with anticipation.

"Don't you sense it too?" He questioned, thinking it curious if she couldn't considering how strong she was with the force.

"I-I'm not sure," Rey faltered because there was an anomaly, but she struggled to filter out the influence his emotions had on her. "When I'm around you I have a hard time focusing on other things," she confessed.

"Close your eyes," he instructed, "reach out through your connection with the force and let it guide you."

She did as he said and the resulting jolt of recognition stole her breath away.

"Yes," Rey gasped, "I do feel it. There is something here, or maybe, someone. It's a familiar energy but I sense no hostility."

Tipoca City was directly ahead of them, jutting out of the stormy sea. The two vast structures consisted of six large and four smaller conjoined pods which were elevated on stilts.

"There," Kylo pointed to a small landing pad attached to the nearest complex, "We will find what we're looking for in that one."

Rey nodded her agreement.

"What or who do you think is in there?"

She knew what she suspected, but it was impossible. The look of dread on his face told her that he was having the exact same thought.

"It can't be, and yet…"

Kylo let his words trail off as he concentrated on landing the shuttle. Once they were safely docked, he went to retrieve his helmet from the hold and grabbed a cape from the storage unit. With the rain beating down heavily outside, he feared Rey was ill-equipped for the elements.

"Here," he tossed the black garment to her, "You'll need to put the hat on too."

She did as he instructed, frowning with disdain at the peaked cap she'd seen First Order officers wearing. Retrieving Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsaber from the console, she clipped it securely to her belt.

"Are you sure about this?" Rey questioned as she followed him to the boarding ramp.

Kylo hesitated in putting his helmet back on; he drew in a deep breath and turned to meet her concerned gaze.

"The wisest thing to do would probably be to get as far away from here and any place else connected to the First Order as soon as possible, but I have to know."

She understood and resolved to do whatever she could to help.

"It can't be what we're thinking, though, can it?"

It was so absurd an idea; she could hardly give it credence. The force was telling her otherwise.

Kylo didn't reply, he was lost in an attempt to salvage a vague memory from when Hux rescued him from the exploding Starkiller Base. Barely conscious from blood loss at the time, his recollections were hazy at best. He did recall the general joking about the contents of a long black crate. The punchline was something about an awkward family reunion. Kylo swore that if his suspicions about what he was about to discover were proved correct, he would make Hux pay.

"Follow my lead and let me do the talking," he intoned through his mask.

Almost as soon as they entered the door to the first domed pod, a tall, slender, pale-skinned creature appeared to greet them.

"Apologies, sir, we were not told to expect a visit from Kylo Ren," the tall humanoid spoke in a soft female voice. "My name is Tulu Ze," she gracefully inclined her small head, "I would be happy to show you around our facility and answer any questions you may have."

"Supreme Leader Snoke wanted me to check on your progress in person," he lied. "Project Blue Harvest is very important to him."

"Of course," Tulu Ze replied, blinking her black almond-shaped eyes, "I cannot add much to the last report we sent to General Hux, but I hope observing our work here will enable you to put the Supreme Leader's mind at ease."

The blindingly white and sterile environment made Rey feel as out of place there as she had in the black shiny lair of the First Order. Their tour guide led them into a laboratory where two other Kaminoans were working on biological samples. One of them, a male named Fidi To, explained the work he was doing.

"The cloning process has been much refined since the creation of the last clone army. We can accelerate the growth to maturity of each specimen to two years at the cost of a greatly reduced lifespan. These clones will rapidly deteriorate when they reach thirty years of age and death will be almost instantaneous. Your Supreme Leader has already indicated that he considers it to be an acceptable tradeoff, as long as the supply can be continually refreshed."

The ethics of it were questionable, but the life expectancy of Storm Troopers was never that high.

"I understand there were problems with the host subject," Kylo interjected, recalling something Hux had said.

"That is correct;" Fidi To confirmed, "the new host was most uncooperative. We were making good progress with the biological material remaining from the original clone army host, Jango Fett. His obedience and aggression levels needed only minor adjustments. But General Hux brought us a new host and insisted that we persevere despite the numerous issues we experienced with modifying his genes. The delay in the embryo replication process is entirely due to the need for many refinements to the host template. We are preparing a test batch of one hundred thousand to add to the million from the old host that are currently incubating."

Tulu Ze led them to a viewing platform. Rey shuddered at the sight of rotating circular rows of glass tanks each containing growing foetuses.

"Where is the host?" Kylo inquired, "It is imperative that my lieutenant and I speak with him in private."

The Kaminoan bowed her head.

"As you wish," she said in her soft tone, indicating they should follow her. "General Hux specified that he be kept as a prisoner for the time being. As you know, he has been promised an eventual release in exchange for his cooperation."

Ren was glad of his mask and thick layers. Rey would sense his inner turmoil, but he could hide it from everyone else. He stole a glance at her as they neared the holding cell. She was stoic on the outside although he knew her stomach was churning the same as his.

"This door will grant you access to an observation pod where you may converse with the host," Tulu Ze informed them.

Kylo was struck by the urge to turn and run. His chest was tight with dreadful anticipation as the moment of truth grew closer.

"That will be all," he abruptly dismissed the Kaminoan, "We will find our own way back to my command shuttle."

Tulu Ze bowed and bid them a polite farewell.

Entering the pod with apprehension, they edged their way towards the translucent shield that separated them from the host. The lights had been dimmed and the sudden illumination of the cell startled them.

"Well, fuse my bus-bars!" Rey exclaimed as they came face to face with the impossible.

"Han Solo," Ren gasped as his body crumpled in shock.

The older man was similarly taken by surprise, but he soon recovered his cocky wit.

"I'll tell you something, kid, hibernation sickness was a breeze next to being resurrected," he quipped, throwing a genuine if sad smile in Rey's direction.

"I saw you die," she spluttered, aghast.

Kylo had not rallied himself enough to speak. There were so many emotions ricocheting around inside him, it took all of his effort to stave off a total meltdown.

"Yep, a lightsaber to the chest ain't something a guy can just bounce back from," Han joked but there was a hard edge to his words as he looked over at his son. "Fortunately for me, your buddy Hux got his goons to scrape up what was left of me from the bottom of that Oscillator before it went kaboom. One dark side resurrection later, courtesy of Snoke, and I was good as new. Although it did kinda make me nostalgic for the time when your Grandpa Vader tortured me, froze me in carbonite and then handed me over to a bounty hunter so I could become Jabba's palace wall decoration."

Rey was on the verge of hyperventilating from what Ren was feeding her through their bond. She reached out to him, hoping that her touch would help him to calm down. The older man watched their interaction with raised eyebrows. He took in the First Order uniform she had on and the tender way she caressed his son's shoulders.

"I'm guessing this ain't a rescue party," Han sighed as he flopped back on his narrow bunk.

"Guess again, Solo," Kylo quipped as he began to regain his composure and turned to Rey, "We can break him out of here," he argued, an almost manic enthusiasm overtaking him, "The Kaminoans aren't warriors and we have our lightsabers."

Finding his father alive was like something from one of his fevered dreams. At first, it didn't seem real although he knew he wasn't hallucinating. He felt lighter as if a huge burden had been lifted from his shoulders. It still happened; he skewered Han Solo and watched the life drain from him. But now there was hope of repairing the damage from the worst thing he'd ever done. The Supreme Leader and Hux had obviously conspired against him in the most underhand and unforgivable way imaginable. But his gratitude at being granted a second chance to make things right with his family outweighed his anger; for the moment, at least.

"If you're serious about blowing this joint, I think I know a way we can do it." Han was always one for putting practicalities above emotions. Knowing his son really was under all that darkness was good enough for now.

Kylo and Rey listened attentively to his plan. As it happened, the stormy weather conditions on Kamino led to frequent power fluctuations. Back-up systems protected the cloning facilities, but all other sections were vulnerable to outages. Hacking into the nearest terminal to trigger a power cut would enable them to open the cell door from the outside using the manual release key. Kylo peered out into the corridor to make sure the coast was clear. Tulu Ze had returned to her duties and there were no other Kaminoans in the vicinity. Spying a power terminal up ahead, he reached for the lightsaber hilt at his hip.

"No," Rey stilled his hand with hers, "When your dad said hacking, he didn't mean it like that." She chuckled and moved past him. "I'll take care of it; you should get ready with the manual release thingy."

He scowled behind his mask but secretly, he found her tendency to be forthright a turn on. Turning back to face his father, Kylo didn't know what to say and so he said nothing. Hux was right about the awkward family reunion.

"I get it, kid," Han broke into a smirk. "I was a sucker for a pretty face back in the day, too, still am when that pretty face belongs to your mother." He winked. "Looks like you're a chip off the old block after all." After a beat, his amused expression sobered. "I'm just glad someone was able to reach you."

Ren felt the need to argue, out of habit more than anything else, but he didn't get the chance. In that moment, the power drained and they were plunged into darkness. He fumbled with the release mechanism and heard the cell door click open.

Rey came running down the corridor to meet them.

"Let's get out of here before the Kaminoans figure out what's going on," she said as they started to make their way back to the shuttle.

Retracing their steps would take them back to the cloning facility. There had to be some means of bypassing it. After a few failed attempts, they found a passage that led back to the landing bay. The power was back on and they kept expecting alarms to sound and the city inhabitants try to prevent their escape, but none of that happened.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Han frowned, "It's too easy."

Kylo shared his father's apprehension. He dared not reach out for any sign of Snoke for fear he would reveal their whereabouts to him. Perhaps he already knew and a trap had been set. It was possible. Once they reached his command shuttle, he did a quick search for signs of tampering. Finding nothing, he cast off his helmet and got in the pilot's seat. He fired up the ion engines and engaged the long range scanners, looking for any ships in Kamino's orbit. To his relief, it was clear.

Once they were airborne, Han pointed out the many lightning rods that dotted the Tipoca City pods.

"If we can take out some of those or damage them at least, there's a chance we could destroy the clones."

Kylo armed the shuttle's powerful laser cannons.

"Why take any chances?"

He flew in low over the domes housing the cloning facilities and fired, scoring direct hits. The pods exploded on impact, the smoking remnants falling into the churning sea below. There was no triumph in his actions, only the grim acceptance that it was necessary. The idea of modified clones of Han Solo being turned into a galactic army for the First Order was something none of them wanted to see.

"We should try and contact General Organa," Rey insisted as she began fiddling with the comlink.

"No," Kylo objected, disabling the communication channels. "I can't know anything about the location of the resistance base."

The shuttle passed through Kamino's stormy atmosphere and into the blackness of space. He set the coordinates for the short jump to Zanddu.

"You have to come back with us," Rey argued, her stomach clenching in horror as she sensed his intentions. "Snoke will kill you for what we just did if you go back to him."

"Ben," Han cut in, reaching out to clasp his son's shoulder, "It's not too late. Come home, son."

"No," Kylo struggled to remain stoic as he made the necessary adjustments before engaging the hyperdrive. "I can't be Ben Solo again, I made my choice. It wouldn't end if I went with you. Snoke would hunt me down and make everyone pay for my betrayal. At least this way you'll have a chance."

Rey felt sick. She continued to passionately protest as they whizzed through the star field. He wanted more than anything to go with her. As he dared to meet her gaze, her hazel eyes pleading and desperate, he almost relented. It is possible he would have had the shuttle not burst out of hyperspace and into the range of a First Order Star Destroyer. The Finalizer loomed ominously close to Zanddu. Hux had obviously been diverted from his important mission by even more pressing matters. Kylo was gripped with dread as he re-established the comlink. Almost immediately, the stern-faced General appeared on-screen.

"Well, Ren," he sneered, "or should I address you by your proper name?" Snoke strictly forbade mention of Ben Solo upon pain of death, but Hux felt emboldened enough to risk it. He soon thought better of it, the threat being enough for now. "Surrender and the Supreme Leader will be merciful. Dare to defy him further, and he will extend your torture and execution indefinitely."

Kylo focused his attention on Rey, sending a private message to her via their bond.

" _It's me they want. I'll get us to the surface of Zanddu and cause a distraction to give you and dad the chance to escape."_

She shook her head fiercely with tears spilling down her face. He gripped the controls and sharply manoeuvred them towards the planet's atmosphere before the Finalizer could get a fix on them. Let Snoke do with him what he would. Kylo swore to fight until his last breath to make sure he never got his hands on Rey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay in updating. I am aiming for weekly updates but life gets in the way sometimes.
> 
> I don't expect Han Solo to be resurrected in Episode VIII or at all. However, I couldn't resist doing it in this fic (if Game of Thrones can get away with it... ;-)) I hope no one finds it too contrived. It is Sci-fi/fantasy, and in the old EU Emperor Palpatine had the power to resurrect the dead. He tortured/executed and resurrected one guy numerous times. I figured a powerful force user (as we assume Snoke is) might be able to perform resurrections too.
> 
> Please do let me know if you have any thoughts on the matter or any constructive criticism. Thank you - Mrs. P


	7. Chapter 7

The Finalizer fired off a few warning shots as Kylo adjusted the controls and skimmed past the star destroyer to enter Zanndu's atmosphere.

"We can get out of this," Han spoke with the confidence of someone who had been in worse scrapes. "All we have to do is swing around the planet, use the moons for cover, outmanoeuvre them and hit light speed."

Kylo threw him a sceptical glance. Their relationship had never been easy and to say that recent events hadn't helped would be an understatement. But Han realised, in what he thought were his final moments, his love for his son was unconditional. Nothing could change that, not even death.

"Come on, Ben," he sighed, "I already forgave you for what happened out on that bridge. I know you think I was a pretty shitty dad, but…"

"Now is not the time," Kylo brusquely cut his father off as he checked the scopes for any sign of hostile company.

"This is crazy," Rey yelled as she was buffeted about in the co-pilot's seat. "Even if we make it to the surface and my skiff is where I left it, we'll never get past the First Order's firepower in that thing. The shields won't repel a TIE fighter attack, let alone anything else."

Han leaned over to size up the shuttle's capabilities. "It's no Falcon," he lamented, "but those laser cannons might give us a fighting chance."

Kylo scowled, giving no indication that he was listening to them. He kept his eye on the scanners, looking to locate a suitable place to land. The Finalizer would doubtless be dispatching Stormtrooper transporters and TIE fighters to intercept them, so time was not on their side. The data screen image display had been blocked, but Hux's voice came through on the comlink.

"Your actions are futile, Ren," he sneered, "Surrender to us now, you and the girl; there is no other way out for you."

The general made no mention of his father, he noted. Was it possible the Kaminoans hadn't yet reported his escape or the destruction of their cloning facility?

"How did you know where to find me?" He questioned Hux. "I disabled the trackers."

"Not all of them, apparently," There was glee in the general's voice. "Captain Phasma informed me that you had absconded with RK-1992 and I informed the Supreme Leader. Really, Ren, another scavenger?" he chided. "One would think the son of a princess would have more refined tastes."

Kylo slammed his fist against the comlink button, cutting off the transmission. It was then that Hux's choice of words registered with him: _another scavenger_ , did that mean he didn't know RK-1992's true identity?

Rey couldn't help smarting over the insult. It shouldn't bother her that someone as despicable as Hux would mock her lowly past, but it did. It stung when Kylo used it against her in the interrogation room on Starkiller Base. The memory of it hurt her anew.

"That's not how I think of you." He sensed the reason for her upset and felt a burning need to set the record straight. "From the moment I saw you, I knew you were special. I didn't realise just how special until you caught my grandfather's lightsaber."

"What about when I kicked your arse and gave you that scar?"

She smiled, reaching over to tenderly trace the line with her finger.

Kylo threw his father, who was sat watching them with fascination, a fleeting glimpse.

"I deserved it," he stated with an honesty she didn't expect, "And worse."

Forgetting they weren't alone for a moment, Rey leaned in and placed a tender kiss on his scarred cheek.

"How long was I dead for?" Han quipped, making her face glow with embarrassment.

Kylo turned his attention back to finding a suitable landing site for the shuttle. The feel of her soft lips on his skin lingered, but he needed to keep focus. The scanners beeped as four TIE fighters came screaming through the sky in an attack formation.

"They're on our tail." Han was itching to get behind the controls.

"I see them." Kylo felt a ripple of irritation; his father knew he was a good pilot. Given his heritage and being as strong as he was with the force, how could he be otherwise? But because it was a natural ability and didn't come from years of hard-won experience, Han distrusted it.

It soon became clear that Hux intended the TIE fighters as an escort, not an attack. None fired on them directly, only warning shots. Their aim to block the shuttle's progress and get Kylo to alter course. He didn't even need to use the targeting computer to blast the closest two TIE fighters away. With a few sharp manoeuvres, he was able to score direct hits with the laser cannons. He repeated his actions with the remaining two as they moved in.

"Show off," Rey teased although she knew he couldn't help doing what he did any more than she could.

Han frowned behind them; accepting that the force existed was one thing, but he would never feel at ease with it.

The shuttle skimmed over the tents and huts of tribal settlements and out into the desert wastes. Zanddu had not been the scene of any battles with the Empire, but it was a place where old starships came to die. Teams of scavengers picked over the broken down carcasses, fighting for the prize parts.

Rey couldn't help the tears welling in her eyes as she watched from above.

"That's not who you are anymore," Kylo assured her as she fought to stop her emotions spilling over. "It's not who you ever were."

"You don't know that," she spat, angry at the unanswered questions about her past. "If I hadn't spent most of my life crawling through the wreckage the Empire left behind, I'd be dead by now. I would still be on Jakku if I hadn't run into BB8."

Kylo had the feeling they would have found each other somehow. But perhaps it was nothing more than wishful thinking on his part. There seemed to be too many obstacles in their way for the force to have willed it.

"Look, kid," Han began awkwardly, he wasn't without sympathy for the girl's situation, "I know what it's like to find yourself alone in the world, but I met Chewie and you have us now, all of us."

It had become clear to him that his son was infatuated with the girl. He had never seen him so clearly smitten with anyone before. With a wry smile, he thought about how it wasn't that long ago that he fell for a fiery, strong and independent young woman. At least, it didn't seem like that long ago even if more than thirty years had passed since he first met Leia.

Rey sniffed back her tears.

"Ben, we gotta get the hell outta here," Han implored. "If Snoke wants you then Hux needs you alive, he won't blow us out of the sky."

"That's what I'm counting on," Kylo replied enigmatically.

The shuttle was approaching the outskirts of the main trading area on Zanddu, where Rey first touched down on the planet.

"How did you know?" She questioned, recognising the spot.

"You pictured it, earlier, when you mentioned the skiff."

The more time they spent together, the easier it was for him to catch glimpses of her thoughts without effort. She was less guarded than him, and her heart more open.

Preparing to land, he checked the scanners; no further ships had been dispatched. He opened the comlink, audio only.

"I will surrender, Hux, but not to you," he hissed, "I shall go directly to the Supreme Leader."

"You do not have that luxury…"

Kylo cut the link before the General could say another word.

"What are you doing?" Rey began to panic as he set the shuttle down and opened the hatch.

She wasn't sure what they were to each other. Whatever they were, she didn't want to lose him.

There was no room for sentiment; Kylo knew he had to keep his resolve.

"I don't think Hux and Snoke know you and dad are with me. If I'm right, it will give you a chance to make your escape. There is no time for arguments," he pressed the small holoprojector that belonged to his grandfather into her hand, "Please, give this to my mom. It is something she and Uncle Luke should have." He no longer wished to deny his family, especially as he knew he would likely never see them again. Taking a data chip from a concealed compartment under the control panel, he handed it to his father. "These are the blueprints for Operation Shadow Wing. The First Order will be unstoppable if it is allowed to reach completion."

"Son…"

"Dad, don't," Kylo turned to face him, "This is how it's got to be. No apology can make up for what I've done, so I won't even attempt to make one."

Han knew his son had inherited his stubborn streak. Once his mind was made up there was little that could change it. He got up from his seat with an expression of sorrowful resignation.

"What am I supposed to tell your mother?"

Kylo got a lump in his throat as he pictured her. She was sure to have aged in the years since they last set eyes on each other. But in his mind, he saw her as she was when he would awaken from night terrors as a child. The memory of her gentle smile and calming eyes as she sang old lullabies to send him back to peaceful sleep would stay forever in his heart. Estranged they might have been, but the bond between mother and son was not so easily broken.

"There will be no need to tell her anything," he replied, "she'll know."

"No," Rey gripped his hand, "I'm coming with you. Together we might be strong enough to destroy Snoke."

Her mission had been a success in terms of uncovering the information General Organa needed to seriously compromise the First Order. What she hadn't counted on was her growing connection to the man at her side. He was no longer simply Kylo Ren; a creature in a mask and monster. He was Ben Solo, someone she could imagine falling in love with if she wasn't careful. As she stole a glance at him, she wondered if it might already be too late.

He shook his head.

"We would both be dead long before we could even try. If Snoke gets his hands on both of us only one will be allowed to live, and he would choose the one he thinks would best serve him. He won't rid himself of me forever unless he can get a replacement. Go back to the resistance, they need you."

"What about you?" Rey couldn't hold back her tears.

He cupped her face in the palm of his large hand, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb. She felt something for him that wasn't revulsion for the terrible things he'd done. To allow himself to believe she loved him might be taking things too far, but her heart was breaking at the idea she might never see him again, and that was enough.

"Whatever happens, I want you to know that I feel it too."

His sad eyes lingered on her lips, wishing they could share one last kiss. She wanted to close the gap between them but feared she would want to stay in his arms whatever the consequences. There were bigger things at stake and she couldn't be selfish.

"Now, go," he dismissed them, exchanging a look with his father that expressed a silent plea for him to watch over her.

Han nodded as he all but dragged a reluctant Rey to the exit ramp.

"Goodbye, Ben," she murmured, watching through watery eyes as the shuttle took off and disappeared from sight.

Han gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze as she sniffed back her tears.

"Come on, kid," he coaxed, "Let's get off this dusty rock."

* * *

Kylo burst through Zanddu's atmosphere at full speed. With one eye on the star destroyer that awaited him, he began inputting the calculations into the hyperdrive for the jump. The Finalizer fired warning shots across his bow and half a dozen TIE fighters swarmed the shuttle. He had to get them to give chase or the coast wouldn't be clear for his father and Rey to escape. Snoke wouldn't want Hux to blast him out of space. The pleasure of ending him would be the Supreme Leader's alone, and anyone who denied him that would suffer the consequences. It wasn't death he feared so much as what would come after. Snoke wouldn't dispense of him for good, he would merely want to break him over and over again. To keep him away from Rey, he had to endure it and somehow manage not to lose his mind in the process. Their bond was precious to him, but he needed to build a wall around it. Snoke could never know.

He looped around the planet as per his father's earlier suggestion. It was much easier for Kylo to take Han's advice when he wasn't around to follow it up with a smug smirk. Zanddu had three small rocky moons and he wove around them to pull free of the planet's gravity. The TIE fighters gave chase as he accelerated away. He dodged a few miscalculated shots from an over enthusiastic pilot but there was no real threat. With the calculations for his journey to the destination complete, Kylo prepared to make the jump into hyperspace. He opened the comlink one last time.

"I'll see you in hell, Hux," he taunted as the shuttle disappeared into the star field.

Malachor might as well have been hell with its fire, ashes, unerring darkness, and Snoke sat at the centre of it all like the devil.

Watching the scanner, relief washed over him as he saw the Finalizer and the TIE fighters following hot on his trail as he chanced they would. His mind turned to Rey and his father, hoping they'd escaped Zanddu. He reached out to her for reassurance, but journeying faster than lightspeed wasn't conducive to such a method of communication. It wouldn't take long to reach his destination. He would try one last time before clamping down on their connection, possibly forever.

The warning light on the console beeped. Popping out of hyperspace, the shuttle was in the direct path of the approaching star destroyer. Kylo took evasive action as the oppressive planet of Malachor filled the scopes. The two moons that orbited it could not shine enough light to pierce through its gloom. He sensed Snoke trying to push into his mind, confused by the resistance he was encountering. Kylo didn't quite understand where he was drawing the strength from to keep him out, either. Across the vast reaches of space, his master's voice could be reduced to a whisper and even silenced for a time. But when he was so near, it should have been ringing inside his head. It was then he heard Rey call out to him.

" _I should never have let you go."_

Her pain and regret hit him full force.

" _Are you safe?"_

Kylo couldn't afford to linger on fantasies of what they might have been to each other if things had been different.

" _All is well. We are on our way back to the resistance base."_

Rey sensed his relief mixed in with his regrets.

" _Don't go to Snoke, come back to me."_

With her desperate plea, he could feel how much she feared losing her connection to him. The bond she once resented was now cherished.

The shuttle drew ever closer to Malachor. There would be no turning back.

" _It's too late."_

That had become his personal mantra.

" _Stay strong and become what you were always meant to be."_

With the words he really wanted to say to her left unspoken, he clamped down on their connection. Another voice was fighting to be heard and he could deny it no longer.

" _Kylo Ren, you may have forsaken much of what I've taught you, but I thought there was one lesson you would have learned by now..."_

Snoke's fierce anger pulled him in with greater force than Malachor's gravity. His half-finished threat hung in the air.

" _You underestimate the reach of my powers at your peril."_

The shuttle began to violently judder and spiral out of control. Kylo fought to get back on course, but it was no good. Burning through the dark planet's atmosphere, he prepared as best he could for what was sure to be a hard landing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone following this fanfic and awarding kudos, your continued support is much appreciated. - Mrs. P


	8. Chapter 8

Ventusar, the new site of the resistance base, had a harsh climate. There were frequent fierce wind storms that ripped across its surface and the temperature never got more than a few degrees above freezing. The vast spacecraft hanger made of reinforced durasteel stood above ground, but the rest of the base was beneath it. A small expectant crowd started to gather as Rey brought the skiff down on the nearest vacant landing platform. Finn happened to be helping with maintenance on Poe's X-Wing. Upon seeing her ship return, he downed his tools and ran to be the first to welcome her back. Happy as the resistance were to witness her safe return, her mysterious passenger drew the bulk of their attention. The helmet and goggles he wore obscured his identity from them, adding to the mystery.

Rey shut off the controls. The journey from Zanddu had passed without incident. Piloting the skiff kept her occupied and she had been grateful for it. In her moments of quiet contemplation, she couldn't stop thinking about Ben. He was no longer just Kylo Ren in her mind or her heart. Han had been uncharacteristically quiet since they left Zanddu. His sardonic wit only resurfacing as they neared the base and he began imagining Leia's reaction to his resurrection. He said nothing about his son but Rey sensed his thoughts like hers, were focused on him. Destroying Snoke and the First Order remained the resistance's top priority, she understood that. However, as determined as Ben might be to martyr himself for the bad choices he'd made, she wasn't going to give up on him that easily. Terror gripped her when she imagined the horrors and punishments Snoke surely intended to inflict upon him. Since he clamped down on their bond, she hadn't been able to sense anything from him. When she reached out for him, she found only a void. He had sealed himself off from her before but it felt different this time like he didn't exist at all. Rey shivered, realising she had never felt so empty, not even during the long days and nights she spent on Jakku.

"Come on, kid." Han got out of his seat and prepared to exit the skiff. "Let's get this over with."

There were gasps as he opened the door and stepped out onto the landing ramp. The crowd fell into a hush as the old smuggler walked towards them. Even Finn, who had been so excited to welcome his best friend home, was stunned to silence. Rey's happiness to see him was dampened by her concerns for Ben. She managed a tight smile and was secretly glad her companion was the one grabbing everyone's attention. Not given to public shows of emotion, Han couldn't help misting over at the sight of the Millennium Falcon parked at the far end of the hanger. Chewbacca ceased the repairs he was tending to and rolled out from underneath the battered freighter to see what all the fuss was about. Upon seeing his old friend, the Wookiee abandoned his hydro-spanners with a roar and ran to greet him.

"It's a long story, pal." Han gave a weary sigh as Chewie enveloped him in a hug, roaring about him having a lightsaber through his chest the last time he saw him.

General Organa usually managed to be stoic in the face of the dramas life had thrown at her. She even managed to bear witness to the destruction of her home planet and those she held most dear with great fortitude. However, when she emerged at the top of the stairway that led up from the command centre and set eyes on her supposedly-dead-husband, her legs buckled beneath her. Luke rushed to catch her before she could slump to the floor.

"Leia?"

He turned his questioning gaze from his sister to see what it was that had shocked her to the point of collapse. His eyes widened and he feared he too might topple over at the unbelievable sight that met them, if not for the way the force kept him centred.

"Great galaxies!" Luke gasped as Han gave him a wistful smile.

C-3PO, who always had something to say about everything, could manage no more than the raising of his arms in surprise. He feared burning out his circuits calculating the odds of surviving a lightsaber through the chest.

General Organa gathered her wits enough to stand without her brother's assistance. But she could not prevent her lips from quivering or her eyes filling with tears as Han made his way towards her.

"Leia, Luke, you both look like you've seen a ghost," he quipped.

It was a poor attempt to lighten the mood as his wife fell weeping into his open arms.

"How are you even here?" The general clung onto him as tight as she could as if to reassure herself that he wasn't a figment conjured up by her grief.

"I think the explanation is something you should hear from a seated position, preferably with a large measure of Corellian brandy," Han said as he took his wife's hand. "Is there someplace we can talk?"

Luke nodded, gesturing for Rey to join them as they headed down into the bowels of the base to the general's private office.

Finn moved in to give his best friend a quick hug.

"I know you were only gone a few days but I missed you," he sighed and pressed a swift kiss to her forehead.

Had it really been so short a time? In many ways, it felt like a lifetime.

"I missed you too," Rey gave him a sad smile, "We'll talk later," she promised as she scurried away to catch up to her master.

Glad to leave the explanations to Han, she skulked in the corner of what passed for General Organa's private office. The small room had been securely annexed off from the main command centre. There was barely space enough for a desk and two chairs let alone the current four human occupants. Chewbacca and C-3PO were forced to wait outside. Leia and Luke took the two seats at Han's insistence, he said he'd been sat around long enough on the journey from Zanddu. It didn't stop him from leaning his weight on the desk so that he was practically sat on the edge. Rey let him talk unhindered as she loitering awkwardly by the door. Her thoughts were focused solely on Ben. Still unable to sense him, she reached out again desperate for some sign that he was okay. She was so deeply immersed in her attempt to detect their connection that she missed her Jedi master addressing her.

"Rey?" He almost shouted her name, snapping her out of her meditation. "I warned you to be mindful of your feelings, but I sense your bond with my nephew has only grown stronger."

Her cheeks grew hot; Ben's parents were both staring at her, wondering what exactly was between her and their son.

"I - I didn't mean to," she faltered unable to deny there was something between them. "It's just the more time we spent together, the less he seemed like the monster I first judged him to be. It isn't like I forgot his crimes, but he is more than the darkness."

Rey wanted to say she felt she had found a kindred spirit. But what would it say about her that she could identify so readily with the man who became Kylo Ren? Having never been in love before, she wasn't sure what it was supposed to feel like. If love meant caring for someone above anything or anyone else then that couldn't be what she felt for Ben because she had let him go to his probable death. "I have to find him," she declared her concern matched only by what she could see etched on the general's face.

"I can no longer feel my son's presence," Leia confessed, "Even at his darkest, I could still sense him through the force, and now there's nothing."

Tears were welling in her eyes as she clutched her husband's hand. She glanced at her brother and his young padawan, hoping they could somehow assuage her fears. Neither had any comfort to offer but no one was willing to give voice to what it likely meant. Rey wasn't the only one unable to accept that he might be gone forever. At the edge of her consciousness, she could hear a voice telling her not to give up on him. She didn't know who was speaking to her but she instinctively knew that they could be trusted.

Still clothed in the First Order uniform Kylo Ren procured for her, Rey reached into the jacket pocket to retrieve the small holoprojector he asked her to deliver and handed it over to the general.

"Ben found these two items in a safe box that once belonged to Darth Vader," Rey explained as she reached for the lightsaber she had hung from her belt to show it to her master.

Luke's eyes widened as he realised who it once belonged to.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsaber," he gasped, "My father, he kept it. The light in him never truly went out, even in his darkest years."

Leia pressed the button to activate the holoprojector, watching in amazement as the image of her birth mother appeared.

"He was always Anakin Skywalker in his heart." Luke declared with a beaming smile, remembering how his father returned to him at the end of his life.

Rey had forgotten the strange sensation that holding the lightsaber gave her amidst the other drama. But as she held it out to Luke, the benevolent voice she'd recently heard spoke to her again.

"It is possible you were created to serve the darkness but the force chose you as a champion of the light."

"I don't understand," she cried out as her master's eye's widened again in recognition of the mysterious voice.

"Obi-Wan?"

Han and Leia could hear nothing other than from those in the room. The general's force sensitivity was limited by her lack of training. Luke had not spoken with Master Kenobi's ghost for a while. Since reuniting with his sister and the resistance, his focus had been more on the living than the dead. But during the time he spent alone on Ahch-To, he would often commune with the spirits of those long departed. All that remained of them decades after their deaths were disembodied voices and flickering images in the mind's eye.

The room fell silent. Neither the living nor the dead spoke.

"We must find somewhere peaceful to meditate," Luke instructed his padawan with urgency.

"Wait a minute," Leia objected, "I know the two of you want to find answers, but I need all the information on the First Order that Rey managed to gather." She held the data chip concerning Operation Shadow Wing that Han delivered to her in the palm of her hand. Her eyes were misty as she contemplated the gift from her son. "If Ben is still alive…" she trailed off, her lips quivering as her husband placed his arm around her. "Maybe it's not too late to bring him home."

* * *

 

Rey felt drained and weary to her bones after leaving General Organa's office. The hard years on Jakku had trained her body to push past the limits of exhaustion for the sake of survival. But all she wanted to do at that moment was curl up somewhere warm and go to sleep. It surprised her how much she managed to recall from Lieutenant Mitaka's datapad. With the aid of her force abilities, she could picture it all so clearly in her mind's eye just as when she first saw it. However, Supreme Leader Snoke's location remained a mystery to them along with Ben's likely whereabouts. Rey intermittently reached out to him, refusing to give up hope, but silence met her every time.

Luke remained eager for them to meditate together. The resistance base was once an old mining facility. He found a peaceful space for their purpose beyond the habitation blocks in what used to be a storage area. He wanted to try and communicate with Obi-Wan again. As much as she needed answers about her origins, Rey was too exhausted to focus. Luke watched her with growing concern. The bond she shared with his nephew troubled him deeply. If Ben died it would leave a gaping hole inside her and she had already lost so much in her short life.

"I sense there is conflict within you," he frowned, "A Jedi must learn to let go of fears and desires or risk treading the path to the dark side."

From the moment she ran into BB8 and then Finn, Rey had been caught up in what felt like the eye of a storm. Events overtook her and she had little option but to be swept along for the ride. It had all left her feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. Her doubts about what she'd accepted as her destiny, resurfaced.

"I - I don't know if I'm cut out to be a Jedi," she confessed.

She hadn't meant to be so unguarded and let her misgivings slip, but tiredness and worry had loosened her tongue.

Luke seemed to know what she was going to say even before she said it. He bowed his head, mournfully acknowledging the truth she spoke.

"Forgive me, I'm not thinking clearly. I didn't mean it." She panicked, trying to take back her words upon seeing the sadness in his eyes.

"Yes, you did." He spoke softly and without recrimination. "You fear you will end up alone and you desire to have a husband and family of your own someday. As I said, a Jedi should not have fears or desires."

Rey could not deny it.

"I kissed Ben," she blurted out, "And I liked it. I liked him."

The situation was more serious than Luke anticipated. He nodded sagely all the same.

"Go and sleep," he again insisted, "We will meditate on these matters when you are rested in body and mind."

She scurried away, feeling drunk with tiredness and mortified that she had confessed the secrets of her heart.

* * *

 

Kylo woke with a choking cough. His raw throat caused him to rasp as he fought to catch his breath. The acrid air burned his lungs and he could taste blood on his dry lips. His temples throbbed, perhaps from dehydration. How long he had been unconscious, he could not determine. The last he remembered, his shuttle was spiralling out of control and he was headed for a crash landing on the unforgiving surface of Malachor. Kylo had no memory of anything after that. He expected to find himself lying in the wreckage. Instead, he appeared to be suspended in some kind of containment field. A red beam of light surrounded him as he hung a metre in the air between two disk-like generators. One bolted to the ground below him and the other to the ceiling directly above. He had been stripped of his clothing except for his black leather pants and there were magnetic cuffs around his neck, wrists and ankles. The restraints limited Kylo's movements, his body felt sore but he could see no external injuries.

He assumed he had to be in one of the subterranean chambers below the old Sith temple. The dim lighting beyond the red containment field revealed little of his surroundings. Snoke rarely summoned him to Malachor, and when he did, his visits were usually of short duration. Even for someone who had embraced the darkness, it was a forbidding place. The old Sith temple Snoke had chosen to dwell in was surrounded by the petrified remains of the fallen from The Great Scourge of Malachor: An ancient battle between the Jedi Order and the Sith. In the distance, a door creaked open letting in a beam of bright yellow light. Footsteps echoed as a tall dark figure advanced towards him, the person's identity obscured by the glare.

"Kylo Ren," Hux's mocking tone made his teeth itch, "I always knew this day would come."

The containment field bound his force abilities and he could do little but curl his lips in anger.

"I won't answer to you," Kylo snapped in defiance, "Take me to the Supreme Leader."

"Did I ask you any questions?" Hux shot back at him. "You are in no position to make any demands."

He had little option but to accept his current state of powerlessness. At least Rey and his family were safe.

The general circled around him as if emulating his beloved pet.

"If the Supreme Leader wanted me dead, I'd be dead," Kylo croaked his voice even deeper than usual. "I've got nothing else to say to you."

"There are worse things than death," Hux snarled, losing his cool for a moment before regaining his customary sneer. "You thought you'd got the better of me, didn't you?" His cold blue eyes glinted as he prepared to reveal the ace up his sleeve. "I'll admit I didn't realise that scavenger was the scavenger, and the reports of your escapade on Kamino did take some time to come through. Communication problems are bound to happen when your main city has been sunk beneath the ocean."

Fear coiled in Kylo's stomach, the general had an air of confidence despite his admitted failings.

"You thought I wouldn't find out what you were up to with the clones?" He growled. "Han Solo is my father."

Hux couldn't contain his amusement.

"I don't deny it was my idea," he smirked. "Imagine a clone army made up of soldiers who know exactly how their enemy think. Besides, you impaled daddy dearest with your lightsaber and let him fall into a deep dark chasm. It's frankly a bit rich of you to attempt to take the moral high ground now."

Kylo had never wanted to force-choke the general more than he did at that moment.

"Anyway, you destroyed the clones and there's no point crying over spilt milk," Hux resumed his circling. "The Supreme Leader will see you soon enough. But first, we have an invitation to extend and a guest to prepare for."

He looked fit to burst with anticipation and Kylo tensed in dread.

"Invitation?" he queried.

"Yes, to that precious little scavenger of yours," Hux pulled out his datapad. "The Supreme Leader was right not to place his full confidence in you. He ordered a second tracker be placed on your shuttle and the Kaminoans were instructed to implant a tracking chip in Han Solo's skull." He held up the display screen in his hands to show a map with a flashing red dot on it. "There we have it; the planet Ventusar, a nasty barren rock by all accounts. The resistance is a plucky little band, I'll give them that. We may not have Starkiller, but we've got more than enough firepower to blast them all to dust. "

Kylo's gut twisted; he had been foolish to think he could outsmart Snoke. His intended sacrifice would be for nought now unless he could find a way to warn them. He tried reaching out to Rey but the containment field that surrounded him made it impossible to tap into their connection.

"She would rather die with the rest of the resistance than come here," he spat unable to see a solution that might save them.

He hated being without his mask at such moments when his face betrayed his emotions so easily.

Hux always cherished the times he got the better of the Master of the Knights of Ren. This one would never be topped and he meant to savour every second. The First Order would take care of the resistance in due course. Supreme Leader Snoke had a more important matter to attend to first. The general stepped towards a control panel on the opposite wall of the chamber and activated the holoprojector.

"Let's see what your little Rey of light has to say, shall we?"

Kylo tried in vain to break free of the containment field. The cuffs around his wrists, ankles and neck activated, releasing powerful jolts of energy. He let out a roar as searing pain coursed through him.

Hux shook his head.

"Now, now," he chided, "you don't want to wear yourself out before she gets here."

"I told you, she won't come," Kylo hissed through gritted teeth.

"Oh, but she will," Hux sneered, "If she ever wants to find out how she ended up abandoned on Jakku, she will come."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I must apologise for the delay in updating. Life is not sparing me much writing time at the moment.
> 
> Anyway, many thanks to everyone who is continuing to read this fanfic, and please do leave a comment if you have one. Kudos is also greatly appreciated. - Mrs. P


	9. Chapter 9

Rey flopped back on her bunk sure she wouldn't be able to sleep. Although weary to her bones, her mind would not come to rest. Thoughts of where Ben might be and what could be happening to him haunted her. Logically, she knew she would be no use to anyone without getting some sleep. Rey glanced around the compact quarters she'd been assigned. Snug as the room was, she found it comforting like the broken down AT-AT she called home for years. The chronometer next to her narrow bed clicked in time as the minutes passed. She listened to it for a while until her mind calmed and she drifted into a deep slumber.

_Rey saw herself as a child of ten years old. Knocked to the ground by the swipe of a meaty arm, she heard Unkar Plutt's pitiless voice booming down at her. "Get up, girl." He kicked sand over her as she lay snivelling on the desert floor._

" _My parents, they will come back for me, you'll see," she insisted between sobs._

" _Who would want you?" Plutt sneered as he stomped back to his booth. "Now get out there and bring me back some decent salvage if you don't want to starve."_

_Rey dried her eyes, glancing down pitifully at the small patch of sand made damp by her tears._

" _I won't die here alone, I won't," she vowed._

_The scenery changed and she found herself in darkness. A child's voice called out to her._

" _Get up, he needs you."_

" _Who needs me?" she asked. "Who are you?"_

_She felt someone take her hand in their smaller one. With a gentle tug, the child began leading her towards a red light glowing in the distance. As they drew closer, she saw a boy of around five years of age with a mop of dark hair and he looked up at her with familiar sad eyes._

" _You can't change what is past but the future is still in motion." The boy released her hand and gestured for her to go the rest of the way alone._

_Taking a step forward, she looked back with uncertainty. "What if I'm not strong enough?"_

" _You can be," he smiled, "Together, you will be."_

"Rey?"

For a second, she thought it was the boy in her dream calling her until she recognised Finn's voice.

"I'm sorry to barge in like this." He was panting for breath having obviously run some distance to her room. "But General Organa needs to see you right now."

She jumped up, her chestnut tresses falling over her face. Sweeping them back with one hand, she reached for her hair ties with the other.

"No time for that," Finn said as he grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the door.

The sound of a blaring alarm rang throughout the base, followed by an announcement from General Organa instructing all personnel to prepare for evacuation.

"What's going on?" Rey questioned her eyes bleary and her head fuzzy. A bolt of fear struck her as she brought them to a halt. "Has there been any news about Ben?"

Finn grimaced at the mention of his name, letting go of her hand. He marched on ahead leaving her running to catch up. The place had descended into an uproar. People were tearing through the corridors carrying boxes and equipment.

Rey caught up to her scowling friend. Mindful of eavesdroppers, he leaned over to hiss in her ear.

"You're worried about Kylo Ren?" Hurt and disappointment burned in his eyes. "I don't know what happened while you were with him, but please tell me you haven't forgotten who he really is."

"He's General Organa and Captain Solo's son," she insisted in a hushed but forceful tone, knowing it wasn't what he wanted to hear.

"Yeah, and Han Solo might have risen from the dead but what about his other victims? Kylo Ren is gonna get you killed, one way or another" Finn warned.

Rey did not have the authority to absolve him of his crimes; her forgiveness, if she gave it, would be hers alone. She wouldn't abandon him, though. Not while there was hope Ben Solo could return to the ones who loved him. It would be up to others to determine his fate after that.

As they reached the command centre, Finn grabbed her hand. "General Organa will explain what's going on, but just remember you don't have to do anything you don't want to do. You've already risked your life once, and you don't owe them anything."

She could make him no promises.

She passed Chewbacca and Poe on their way to prepare their ships as she headed for General Organa's private office. The air was thick with anticipation but no words were exchanged between them. Han opened the door and ushered her inside. The general sat at her desk, her face pale and drawn.

"What's happened?" Rey braced herself for whatever bad news was coming.

"You'd better sit down, kid," Han said as he pulled out the chair for her.

She didn't argue; her nerves were frayed and she hadn't slept enough to feel anywhere near rested.

"The First Order knows where we are," Leia explained, "We got a call from General Hux."

"Shouldn't we be preparing to evacuate with the others?" Rey asked confused as to why they were wasting time sitting in an office.

Han frowned making his face look haggard. "It ain't that simple, kid," he sighed.

She glanced from the captain to the general waiting for one of them to tell her whatever it was they were reluctant to divulge.

Leia leaned forward in her chair and reached for Rey's hand. "Hux wants to make a deal." She paused and turned to her husband looking for his affirmation. But whatever she planned to say, he didn't appear to be fully on board with it. "Snoke will order a temporary ceasefire," she continued. "The First order will not send their fleet to attack this planet or our ships. There will be no attempts made to stop us from evacuating and relocating elsewhere if you agree to surrender to them."

Rey had already guessed what their demand would be. Kylo Ren told her back when they were on the base on Regnian what Snoke wanted. This was his chance to make it happen.

"What about Ben?" She remembered her dream. "Is he alive?"

General Organa had never looked so careworn. "Hux wants to speak with you," she explained. "He made it clear that Snoke will decide our son's fate, but he said we could see Ben if you agree to let him put the deal to you in person."

"How can you trust a word he says?" Rey had never known her to acquiesce to such demands.

"I don't," she retorted, "That's why I gave the evacuation order. It's just - I haven't seen my son in so long."

The general pressed her lips together to stop herself from saying more. She knew it wasn't fair to add her emotional baggage to an already fraught situation. Leia had always placed duty above all things, even family. For that reason and many others, she felt she owed her only son a proper farewell.

Rey didn't know what she should do. "Where's Luke?" she questioned, wondering why he wasn't present at such a vital moment.

She knew she ought to seek his counsel before making any decisions.

"You know how he gets when he's deep in meditation." Leia appeared in no hurry to summon him. Much as she loved her brother, his philosophising would waste precious time. "We have to make the call now."

Han kept his silence for as long as he could but on this matter, he had to speak. "Luke should be here, I'll go get him," he said, heading out of the door.

His wife opened her mouth to argue but the console on her desk beeped to signal an incoming call. Hux had grown impatient and refused to wait any longer.

"General Organa," his brusque tones as irksome as his scornful glare, "Perhaps I did not make myself sufficiently clear during our last conversation. If we have to take the girl by force, we will. However, I'm sure I can persuade the scavenger to come to us without the need to resort to such unpleasantness."

Rey leapt out of her seat and joined Leia in front of the data screen.

"Let us talk to Ben first, like you promised," she demanded.

Hux threw her a disdainful glance.

"There will be no conversation," he curtly informed them as the holocam droid hovered over to where the prisoner hung suspended in the containment field.

The audio link had been deactivated but they could see the man now known as Kylo Ren clearly on the data screen.

"Ben," Leia gasped her eyes brimming with tears as she saw her son for the first time in over six years.

His mother still saw in him the same mop-haired, gentle and loving boy she once knew. He appeared conscious and uninjured. There were only old scars that occasionally crisscrossed his lean, muscular body. His eyes were open and he wore a mournful expression.

The image on the data screen switched back to Hux.

"Now, scavenger, you will hear what I have to say."

His condescending tone angered her.

"My name is Rey," she stated her lips twisting into a snarl.

Hux appeared amused.

"It is certainly a pretty name, more so than RK-1992 at any rate," he mocked, "or MP-23."

"MP-23?" The designation meant nothing to her but an involuntary shudder went through her at the mention of it.

"The Mosaic Project," Hux explained, "You were their twenty-third attempt to create a powerful force sensitive subject."

Rey gaped at him in horror.

"Oh, you don't remember?" The general inquired with mock surprise. "No, I don't suppose you would. Your memories were erased and hastily rewritten when the project which created you was abandoned. The old Imperial secret archives have proven most useful in that regard. I have in my possession all the remaining files relating to The Mosaic Project. We also imprisoned and questioned Unkar Plutt. After a little gentle persuasion, he has been able to provide some useful information."

He held up his datapad so she could get a glimpse of the information displayed on it. She saw a picture of a baby in the arms of a man with a shock of white hair.

"That's not me," she insisted her voice full of false bravado. "I had a mother and a father and they loved me. Something must have happened to them and I got left behind on Jakku."

That was her story. She knew it by heart and never doubted its truth. It had bothered her sometimes that she couldn't picture the faces of her parents. But she'd been so young at the time of her abandonment; she thought it understandable such details would have faded as the years passed by.

"You were a genetic experiment," Hux announced his bluntness intended to wound her. "If you want to know the rest of your story, you will surrender yourself to the First Order."

"You're lying," Rey started to crumble. "None of it is true."

General Organa reached out to comfort her.

"I could reduce the resistance to dust with one order," the general snarled his controlled facade cracking. "I'm offering you the chance to save your friends. There will be no negotiations and I demand your answer now."

"If you had the firepower or the troops, you'd be here already." Leia snapped back.

She had heard quite enough from him. The mettle which had got her through similar situations in the past rose to the fore. She had to do what she always did in a crisis and strategize. The information in her possession regarding First Order bases and Operation Shadow Wing might give them leverage, but they would need time to get organised. Hux still had a sizeable fleet under his command and the resistance couldn't match their military might. Outmanoeuvring them would require cunning and a high degree of risk.

"Alright," Rey spoke quietly; she had almost been forgotten for a moment by the generals in their power play. "I'll surrender to you, but I want to see Ben in person."

Hux did not attempt to hide his delight.

"I'm sure that can be arranged," he smirked. "I shall give you a set of coordinates where you will rendezvous with the Finalizer. You will come alone, is that understood? Any attempt at an incursion will be met with deadly force."

Leia didn't argue. The girl's surrender could buy the resistance the time they needed to hit the First Order on multiple fronts. According to the data files, Operation Shadow Wing wasn't yet completed. Thanks to Ben, they knew the purpose of the First Order's new super weapon and where it was located. The device had been under construction on Daxam IV and the finishing touches were being made to it. Hux had been scheduled to take possession of it, but his delay left it vulnerable to interception. The Shadow Wing, an orb-shaped device with a circumference of a mere twenty metres, could be used to blanket a planet with dark energy which massively disrupted its gravity, crushing all life forms upon it to dust. If the resistance could get hold of it before the First Order, it would be a powerful bargaining tool.

As the deal was struck, Rey attempted to hold onto her goals. She wasn't even sure who or what she was anymore. But together with Ben, she might be strong enough to bring down Snoke forever.

The coordinates were given and the call ended just as Han and Luke burst into the office.

"Tell me you haven't done anything stupid." The old smuggler turned to his wife, knowing immediately from the look on her face that he wouldn't like her reply.

"Rey?" Luke saw his apprentice's stricken expression and feared the worse.

"I have to do this," she argued wishing she felt as confident as she sounded. "You willingly sent me to the First Order before not knowing whether I'd live or die. I have to know who I am and Ben needs me. He wanted to protect me but he can't, no one can. I believe we might be able to stop Snoke together. We have to try at least."

"No," Luke protested, "your feelings for my nephew are too conflicted. Han thinks Ben is in love with you, and knowing him as I do, I can well believe it. He is drawn to you as you are to him. But Snoke will use your feelings against you. We will find another way."

Leia moved from behind her desk, purposely placing her hands on her hips.

"There is no other way." Her mind was made up. "Rey will take the skiff to rendezvous with the Finalizer and we will evacuate this planet."

She didn't often use the force but her brother had taught her some techniques. She hoped he could hear the beginnings of the plan she'd been formulating as she pushed her thoughts at him. Han knew her well enough to recognise when she had something up her sleeve without the need for any words to be exchanged. It appeared that both of them had got the message as neither proffered any further arguments.

Han let out a weary sigh as he prepared for yet another battle. Turning to the girl who might be their only hope, he found his fighting spirit.

"Let's go get 'em."

* * *

Finn had been helping to load the transports but the moment he saw Rey enter the hangar, he rushed to her side. She gave him a sad smile and his heart sank.

"Please, no," he begged her. "They'll destroy you. That's what the First Order do, they take good people and kill them or they turn them into monsters. Come with us and we'll face them and fight them together."

With sadness, she shook her head. "My mind's made up."

She thought back to when they crossed paths on Jakku and the start of their friendship. He had been her first real friend and would always occupy a special place in her heart. As he pulled her into an embrace, she let her tears fall freely. His arms comforted her and she held fast to him, grateful to have someone who cared for her as much as he did.

"Thank you for being the best friend a girl could ever have," she said, planting a tender kiss on his cheek.

Finn hadn't told her how he really about her felt the last time she left. Now he knew his chance had passed.

"Why him, Rey?" He had to ask, not wanting to sour what might be their last moments together, but needing to understand why she would risk her life for such a man.

She drew a deep breath and fresh tears fell from her eyes.

"I've seen inside his head and I've felt his pain, loneliness, and regret. He needs me and for reasons I don't yet fully comprehend, I need him," she said unable to offer any better explanation.

Finn cupped her face in his hands and caught one of her teardrops with his thumb.

"I need you," his voice cracked with emotion, "I don't want to lose you."

"Oh, Finn," she wept.

Rey's heart broke for him and for not being able to give him what he wanted.

"I'm not going to make any promises this time," she said, "But I truly hope we will see each other again soon."

He pressed a kiss to her forehead, "Me too."

* * *

The Finalizer loomed ahead of her as Rey brought the skiff out of hyperspace. Its sensors immediately got a lock on her ship. There would be no escape even if that had been her intention. She flew towards the rear of the star destroyer as the comlink beeped.

"Proceed towards the landing bay," a female officer instructed her.

As she came in to land, Rey could see General Hux awaiting her arrival with eight armed Stormtroopers. He offered a perfunctory greeting as she was checked for weapons. She came unarmed, her staff lightsaber again left in Luke's care along with the one that belonged to Obi-Wan Kenobi. With a wave of her hand, she could scatter her enemies to the walls, but the time for fighting had not come yet. Manacles were placed around her wrists as the general ordered her to follow him. Stormtroopers flanked them both as they made their way through the hulking vessel. At the end of a long corridor, the general brought them to a halt.

"I've had Kylo Ren's old quarters prepared for you," Hux informed her with a sly smirk as he keyed in the code to open the door. The austere dwellings appeared to have been stripped of all but the basics much like his room on the Regnian base. "It won't take long to reach our destination, but you should have time to freshen up and change out of those shabby clothes." He eyed her grey knee-length pants and vest with disdain. "We can't have you meeting the Supreme Leader looking like a nerf herder."

On the bed, a long strapless black dress with a form-fitting leather bodice and flared lace skirt had been laid out for her. There were also matching gloves, boots, and a flowing cape.

Hux instructed one of the Stormtroopers to remove her manacles.

"After your audience with Supreme Leader Snoke, you will be taken to see Kylo Ren as you demanded," he said in a casual tone as if there wouldn't be some awful reckoning.

The general took his leave, warning her not to dawdle.

In the silence of the room, she thought about how she could be killed at any moment, as could Ben. Fear formed a lump in her throat and she tried to hold onto Master Luke's teachings. She knew she was woefully underprepared for the challenges ahead. The odds were against her, she didn't need C-3PO to tell her that. Rey gathered up the clothes from the bed and headed into the fresher. She had never worn a dress before in her life and the one she'd been provided with wasn't at all to her tastes. It appeared better suited to a brothel worker. Rey swore she damn well wasn't going to die in such a hideous outfit.


	10. Chapter 10

Han had no time to savour being back on the Falcon. Crates of supplies were hurriedly being loaded into the cargo hold and chaos abounded.

"Hey, watch it," he scolded one of the young men for not taking due care with a box of thermal detonators. "If one of those things blows, you're gonna save the First Order a whole lot of trouble."

Chewbacca concentrated on getting the ship ready for take-off, but Luke and Leia were nowhere to be seen.

Time wasn't on their side and Han huffed with annoyance as he went in search of them. He knew his wife of old and how she always insisted on being among the last to leave. It had been the same way on Hoth all those years ago. Luke could be just as stubborn. Much as he loved them both, they often tested the limits of his patience. As it turned out, he didn't have to go far in search of them. Leia had got sidetracked on her way to the Falcon, making sure Poe, Finn, and their teams were clear on the orders she'd given them. Luke and Dr. Kalonia were with her. The doctor spied Han and made her way over to him.

"You never did let me do that medical scan," she chided reaching into the small case she carried.

"Well, we sure as hell haven't got time for it now," Han protested waving the handheld scanner away.

"Nonsense," Dr. Kalonia barked as she began to move the device over his body. "It will only take a minute and -"

The scanner beeped when it reached his head.

"Oh," she exclaimed as she read the data output. "That's not good."

"What is it?" Han frowned he knew his hatred of medical checks was justified.

"You have a chip implanted at the base of your skull," Dr. Kalonia informed him. "It appears to be emitting a signal."

Leia and Luke arrived at the Millennium Falcon's boarding ramp, their faces masks of concern.

"It's a tracker, isn't it?" Han felt a stab of guilt. If he had consented to the medical check after he and Rey arrived like the doctor wanted, maybe the First Order wouldn't have got the jump on them.

"It wouldn't have changed anything." His wife assured him noting his pained expression. "At least we know now, and maybe we can use it to our advantage."

"It should be easy enough to remove," Dr. Kalonia suggested. "But it might get damaged in the process."

General Organa took a moment to formulate a plan of action. "That chip is the First Order's insurance policy. If they lose the signal, they'll know we're on to them. We're gonna set a trap," she explained turning to her husband with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, honey, but it looks like you'll have to be the bait."

* * *

Rey finished dressing and took a seat on the narrow bed in Kylo's quarters. The dress she'd been told to wear added to her discomfort. She thought about putting her old clothes back on as an act of rebellion but figured compliance would serve her better in the short term. The leather bodice constricted her breathing and she tugged at it in agitation. Her modest breasts had been pushed up so far, she feared them popping out. She tried to distract herself with imaginings of what Ben's life aboard the Finalizer had been like, but no attempt at diversion or meditation could push away the sick feeling in her stomach. The closer the ship drew to their destination, the worse it got. After what seemed like an eternity, she heard the sound of marching feet outside. The door whooshed open and General Hux appeared with his small band of Stormtroopers.

"That's more like it," he declared as his eyes roved appreciatively over her body.

Rey shuddered in disgust and hugged herself to shield against his penetrating gaze.

"You said you'd tell me how I ended up on Jakku." She still didn't believe what he'd said about the Mosaic Project. As if she could be the result of an experiment; it was absurd. The whole thing had to have been part of a ruse to ensure her surrender. She would have come anyway for Ben, to save the resistance and, if at all possible, to end Snoke.

"The Supreme Leader wishes to speak to you first." Hux gestured for her to get up and one of the Stormtroopers placed binders around her wrists. "We have almost reached our destination," the General informed her. "My command shuttle has been prepared and it will take us the rest of the way."

He marched her out towards the landing bay.

"How long until I get to see Ben?" Rey noted Hux's look of contempt at the mention of his name.

"All in good time," he hissed. "The Supreme Leader is granting you the honour of an audience and he does so hate to be kept waiting."

She shivered with horror at the idea of meeting Snoke. From all she'd heard, he was a foul creature; hideous in both his wrecked appearance and because of the darkness inside him. What terrors he had in store for her, she could only imagine.

Once aboard the command shuttle, she was securely strapped into one of the passenger seats.

Hux appeared uneasy as he likewise fastened his own safety belt.

"The ride may get a little bumpy from here," he warned.

Rey kept her eyes on the viewport; her sense of foreboding increasing as she caught sight of a grey dot in the distance. As they drew closer, the shuttle began to shake and judder. Bile rose in her throat and burned as she swallowed it back down. The sound of buzzing alarms and the flashing of lights on the control panel made her feel dizzy. Her head swam and she squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to regain her composure. Hux threw her a scornful glance, his enjoyment of her suffering spoiled by his own anxiety. After an uncomfortable few minutes, the shuttle locked onto a landing path and the shaking ceased.

Although their descent onto the planet's barren surface went smoothly, it did nothing to calm Rey's fears. She gazed out on the view from the landing platform with renewed horror. Darkness pervaded every corner of the place; both in its gloomy atmosphere and the threat of its hidden perils. Aside from the imposing pyramidal structure that surely housed the Supreme Leader, crumbling ruins and the petrified remains of fallen warriors littered the landscape. The stricken bodies were unsettling enough. But, at that moment, Rey feared the living more than the dead.

"Get moving," Hux barked at her hesitation to set off walking towards the temple.

One of the Stormtroopers jostled her from behind by digging his blaster sharply between her shoulder blades. She puffed out an exasperated breath and started down the debris-strewn path. The temple appeared to be in darkness apart from a glowing red light at its peak. Rey dared not lift her eyes up to examine it any further in case she tripped on the fallen masonry and got injured. Thankfully, it wasn't far to the temple. As they drew closer, the shield over the entrance lifted with an ominous rumble to allow them inside. The interior, with its dim lighting, appeared as murky as the exterior. Stormtroopers marched on either side of her in a dull thudding rhythm as the general led the way.

"Halt," Hux commanded as they came to a hulking doorway.

He beckoned for Rey to step forward, and she reluctantly complied. Her chest felt so tight she could scarcely draw a breath. The air around her had become thick and stifling. She got the sense an invisible entity had her within its grip; Snoke had to be beyond that door. The darkness that dwelled in Kylo was nothing compared to the tenebrosity of the being that awaited her. She became vaguely aware of the doorway opening but felt a strange detachment as if she no longer had control over her body. Her legs began to unwittingly propel her towards a pale, slender figure seated on a high throne. At the sight of him, her mind began to involuntarily fill with memories of every terrible thing that had ever happened to her. From all the times she barely earned enough portions to keep from starving to the image of Han Solo impaled by his son's lightsaber. The whole spectacle unfolded like a dream. Rey felt compelled to fall to her knees when she reached the foot of the dais, and so she did. She saw the binders drop from her wrists and clatter on the hard ground.

"Ah, finally, the scavenger girl," the ruinous creature studied her with his sunken eyes.

The black void that had sucked her in threatened to engulf her and swallow her whole. It was as if she was being pulled under in the deadly sinking fields on Jakku. Her brain felt as if it was being crushed in a vice and she cried out in pain clutching at her head. Rey knew she had to fight to push him back and get some semblance of control. Hux began speaking, but she couldn't focus in on the words. Her senses were overwhelmed and she began to spiral into the darkness. But then, she saw a glimpse of light and reached out towards it in her mind. Slowly, the dark veil began to lift. Rey didn't consciously know how she was repelling Snoke. But she kept pushing back and embracing the light within. At first, she wondered if he'd intentionally released her, but his fleeting expression of surprise told her otherwise.

"Your power is impressive," he acknowledged. "To think you were discarded on Jakku to rot among the remnants of the fallen Empire; such a waste."

"My parents meant to come back for me," Rey protested her head still fuzzy from his invasion.

"You had no parents, girl," Snoke sneered, "Your creator, Dr. Josta Mertoro, worked for Emperor Palpatine. His methods were somewhat - unorthodox, but his devotion to the Imperial cause could not be faulted. He conducted experiments on force-sensitive children captured by the Empire. The Mosaic Project evolved out of his research, its aim to create a new breed of Stormtrooper. After the Emperor's death, Dr. Mertoro disappeared and continued his work in exile. Force-sensitives are notoriously difficult to clone and the results are, shall we say, varied. However, you are not a clone. You were made from an amalgam of DNA from various force-sensitive individuals. There are records of all the samples collected in the Imperial archives. The most illustrious being genetic material recovered from Obi-Wan Kenobi. Twenty-three embryos were created and twenty-two proved not to be viable. You were number twenty-three."

"No," Rey murmured.

She wanted to shout and rave that he was a liar, but she felt him pushing at her mind again. It took all her strength to keep him out.

"I know you don't believe me," he said, "Look, girl, see for yourself."

With his words, she experienced a sharp stab of pain as if her head were being split open. She screamed and writhed in agony as her mind began to fill with images of things long forgotten.

_A man with fuzzy white hair and intense eyes loomed over her. He had her restrained in some kind of medical facility. There was a redheaded woman with him, an assistant, perhaps. She appeared to be much younger than him. The man hurt her with tests while she begged the woman to help her. The scenery kept shifting but the white-haired man was always there observing her._

"Agents working on behalf of the New Republic tracked down Dr. Mertoro and his young wife. Nersa Mertoro managed to flee, taking you with her. She wiped your memories and implanted false ones using a mind-altering device. The doctor's research notes came into the possession of the First Order a short while ago, as did his wife. She has been most forthcoming, with the usual kind of persuasion. Unkar Plutt did a trade with Nersa on Jakku some fourteen years ago. He took a small cruiser and you in exchange for a freighter. "

Rey heard General Hux's words but could barely focus on their meaning as Snoke recommenced his invisible assault. She swayed about on her knees and slumped down onto the stone floor.

"Take her below," The Supreme Leader ordered Hux.

"No," Rey said as firmly as she could, digging deep for the strength to lift her head up. He wanted to break her and she wasn't going to give in. The rest didn't matter. She couldn't trust anything Snoke said as much as she feared it might be true. "What about Ben? I want to see him like you promised I could."

The pale ruin glared down at her from his throne as he contemplated her fate.

"I want to see Ben," she demanded again her strength returning as she got unsteadily to her feet. "I was told if I surrendered I would be able to see him in person. Although I suppose it was foolish of me to expect someone like you to keep your word."

Hux stared at her aghast. No one had ever taken that tone with the Supreme Leader and lived to tell the tale.

Snoke began to laugh and it was a dreadful sound. Rey felt the darkness creeping back over her and had to strain every sinew to push it away.

"Since you are now mine to do with as I please, I will allow you to see Kylo Ren." His faux benevolence didn't fool her, she knew he meant no kindness. "You may keep him company as he awaits his execution."

There was the sting in his tail. She resolved to appear stoic although her insides were screaming.

"Execution?"

"Why, of course," Snoke replied. "What uses have I for him now I have you? There is only room for one of you here and he has failed me for the last time."

Rey drew in as deep a breath as her tight bodice would allow. It wasn't as if he was telling her something she didn't already know. Ben had warned her it might come to this.

"When morning dawns, you will be the one to end Kylo Ren or every single member of the resistance will die." She stood defiantly and he continued his threat. "We know where they are and I can order their deaths whenever I choose."

"You'll kill them anyway no matter what I do," she argued seeing no reason why he wouldn't.

"It will be your choice," Snoke promised. "Kylo Ren will die, whether by your hand or not, and your place will be here with me. Give yourself willingly or be broken, it's all the same to me in either case."

"I will never do your bidding," Rey spat.

"We'll see," Snoke taunted.

"Shall I take her to the prisoner, Supreme Leader?" Hux inquired.

"Put our two guests in the altar room for the night, "Snoke commanded. "I'm sure they will find it helpful to meditate," he sneered, obviously amused by the idea.

The general nodded respectfully and signalled for her to move. Stormtroopers were waiting at the door ready to escort her. Hux led them through the labyrinthine passageways that descended into the bowels of the temple. He brought them to a halt outside a door and keyed in the code to release it.

"Here we are then," he cheerfully announced.

Rey peered into the dimly lit room. It was empty save for a large black stone slab in the centre.

"Where's Ben?" she questioned with suspicion.

Hux gestured for the Stormtroopers to hustle her inside by force if necessary.

"You will see him soon enough," the general promised with a nasty smirk.

Sure enough, after a few minutes of her anxiously circling the stone slab, the door opened. Four Stormtroopers hauled the limp form of the fallen Jedi into the room.

"What have you done to him?" Rey yelled out in anger as she dropped to her knees by his side. "Ben?" She swept back the raven tresses that were clinging to his face with sweat. "Ben, can you hear me?"

He had been stripped to the waist and she checked him over for injuries. There were no marks on his body save for old scars. She traced the faint line across his exposed right shoulder from the slash with the lightsaber that she had given him. His eyelids flickered and he started to groan. The torture he'd endured had left him weak. Regular bursts of strong electrical current had contorted his body and made him feel as if his blood was boiling in his veins. He couldn't make out the face of his companion through his blurred vision. His ears were ringing making her words sound slurred.

"Ben, it's me, Rey.'

His heart seized in his chest. Much as he ached for her, the idea of Snoke having her in his clutches made him feel sick.

"Oh, no - NO," Kylo roared tears leaking from his eyes in despair. "I could have borne anything but this. Now all is lost."

Rey dabbed at his cheeks with her sleeve and lowered her head to cover his lips with hers. He felt a surge of energy go through him renewing his strength. Wrapping his arms around her, he returned her kiss until they were both left panting for breath.

She smiled at him holding his face between her palms.

"We're not done yet."

* * *

The resistance ships came out of hyperspace as near to Daxam IV as they dared. Without the time to scout ahead, they were headed into unknown territory. It looked benign enough with its sweeping orange deserts and teal-blue seas. The scanners had picked up no signs of the First Order's fleet, but there had to be something nasty awaiting them. A superweapon like the Shadow Wing wouldn't be left totally unguarded. If they were lucky the defences on this mostly barren rock would be minimal. The resistance was throwing everything they had at it. At least they had a location; the rest was up to chance.

Poe gave the order for the Blue and Red squadrons to get into formation.

"We've got one shot at this," he said taking the lead in Black One. "Let's not screw it up,"

Finn stood aboard the troop transporter waiting for the signal to go. It wasn't the same feeling he'd got when he'd been among the First Order's troops, he believed in this cause, but his heart pounded in his chest all the same.

It seemed for a long moment as if time had stopped. All was quiet and still except for the sound of breathing. The buzzing of the comlink broke the spell.

"Better get down here," Poe commanded. "Looks like we've found what we came for."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies once again for the delay in updating, I'm swamped with the school summer holidays. I will endeavour to do better.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me and taken the time to leave a review etc. Your comments are much appreciated and please do keep the feedback coming - Mrs. P


	11. Chapter 11

" _What_ \- are you wearing?"

As Kylo's vision came into focus, his usually deep voice sounded a few octaves higher than usual.

"Oh, this, it's hideous isn't it?" Rey flicked the lacy skirt of the black dress with disdain.

His mouth had suddenly gone dry and his eyes were like saucers. Hideous wasn't the first word that sprang to his mind. The tight leather bodice of her dress gave him a glimpse of hidden delights he'd only pictured in fevered dreams.

"Wait a minute," Rey scowled sensing his arousal through their restored bond. "You don't like it, do you?"

"Well, I…"

"You would," she snapped as she detached the flowing cape and tossed it aside. "I bet you've been itching to get me into something like this since the day we first met."

He pouted, stung by her harsh tone.

"Black isn't your colour." Kylo heaved a weary sigh and settled back against the altar block.

Rey felt chastened, she hadn't meant to speak so harshly to him. Her quick temper saved her life more than once on Jakku and no amount of Jedi meditation had tamed it, but bickering over a dress wasn't the best use of their limited time together.

"I'm sorry," she said reaching for his hand.

Kylo let her take it entranced by how small her fingers were next to his. He turned his gaze to meet hers with an earnest expression.

"I wouldn't care if you were covered from head to foot in Tauntaun entrails, you always look beautiful to me."

Her eyes widened in surprise, he didn't usually speak so freely. He picked up on her shock through their bond.

"If I don't say it now, I never will." Kylo remained stubbornly fatalistic about his impending doom.

Rey settled down next to him and rested her head on his bare shoulder. It wasn't the time for her to be dwelling on his half-naked state, and yet she couldn't help herself. She longed to glide her hand over his well-defined musculature. He gave a small smirk as he saw her fingers twitch.

"Where did you get the Tauntaun imagery from anyway?" she grimaced attempting to hide her blushes at being caught thinking impure thoughts.

"When you see my dad again or Uncle Luke, get them to tell you how they survived a night outside on Hoth."

She jerked her head up to deliver a stern glare.

"What do you mean, when *I* see them?"

Kylo had listened in silence when she told him how the First Order tracked her and Han back to the resistance base on Ventusar. He understood why she surrendered to Snoke, even if he didn't like it. Whatever else happened, Rey had to survive. She had already proven herself to be stronger than him in every way. His death would buy her some time and she could use it to break free of Snoke. She had already managed to push him out of her head, something Kylo failed to do for most of his life. He had already made up his mind; he would die and she would live.

"Didn't you once wish Han Solo was your father? I bet my mom and Uncle Luke have been treating you like one of the family. They'll take care of you and make sure you always have a home. Please, don't fight me on this." He tenderly cupped her chin in his hands. "My fate is no more than I deserve, and you know it. I've done terrible things. It might not be those crimes I'm being executed for, but it will serve as some kind of justice for every innocent person who ever died by my hand or at my command."

Rey's eyes filled with tears as she wrenched herself from him.

"Stop beating your wounds," she cried. "I've already watched you bleed."

"You think I shouldn't be punished?"

Rey didn't want him to die, she knew that much. Plenty of bad people escaped the hand of justice, and Ben had already begun to atone for his sins.

"It shouldn't be up to Snoke," she spat. "He's only sorry you've stopped doing his dirty work. I can't do what he wants and I won't."

"Would you rather my mother was forced to order my execution?" Kylo shot back at her his temper flaring. "Because she would do it, you know. If there was no other way to restore peace in the galaxy, she would let them take my head."

Rey had spent enough time with General Organa to appreciate how dedicated she was to the resistance cause. But she also knew the depth of her love for her son.

"Your mother has never stopped wanting you to come back to her, even after what happened on Starkiller."

She would have given anything to have a parent who felt that way about her. If Snoke and Hux were telling the truth, she came into being as a result of a science project and not a loving union. Rey had friends who cared deeply for her and she was grateful for them, but she had never known the unconditional love of a mother or father.

Kylo sensed her yearning. He couldn't fix the past and he had no future to offer her. It didn't stop an image of his deepest desires from forming in his mind. He pictured them together as husband and wife surrounded by a loving family of their own.

"I want that too," Rey said shocking him and bringing a blush of shame to his cheeks. "I've already told Luke that I'm not cut out to be a Jedi. I want attachments, I want you."

He shouldn't have been so unguarded with his thoughts. Her attraction towards him he could not deny. He felt it as keenly as his towards her. But as for the rest, she didn't know what she was saying. The stress of the situation must have clouded her judgement. How easy it might be to mistake a muddy puddle for an oasis when surrounded by nothing but sand. Before he could protest, she claimed his lips in a desperate kiss. Her growing arousal inflamed his senses. As their tongues intimately caressed their hands mirrored them, tentatively exploring each other's bodies. Their timorous touches grew slowly bolder until they were writhing around on the altar block. Rey began unlacing her bodice and Kylo couldn't prevent his physical reaction to the intoxicating sight before him. He unfastened his leather pants and began to hitch up the skirt of her dress. Snoke couldn't have sent her to him in a more enticing outfit, he mused. The idea he was once again being manipulated by Snoke sobered him and dampened his ardour. While he maintained a shred of sanity, he had to put a stop to the proceedings before they went past the point of no return.

"We can't do this," Kylo objected breaking free of her embrace and putting some distance between them.

Rey appeared dazed with lust and it took her a moment to snap out of it.

"Why not?" she wailed. "You want me and I want you, and I don't care about the rights and wrongs of it. If you're so determined to die tomorrow, then tonight is all we will ever have."

He didn't want that for her. She shouldn't give up her virginity to someone who could only offer her one night of passion. His celibacy had never bothered him until she came into his life. As much as he ached to cross that particular threshold with her, it wouldn't be right, not in a Sith temple. It wasn't the kind of place where love could prosper tainted as it was and infused with darkness like the rest of the foul planet surrounding it. She deserved better than this than him.

"Snoke sees everything," Kylo explained giving his main reason why he would not sully her.

Rey shuddered in disgust at the idea of that wretched creature observing such a private moment. Her blood felt like ice through her veins and her lustful intentions instantly faded.

"I know I shouldn't but I can't help it," she began pausing to take a deep breath. Her eyes burned into his and he could sense her summoning up the courage to go on. "I love you, Ben."

She dropped her gaze from his, their bond told her that he felt the same way but she needed to hear him say it.

"Oh, Rey," he sighed clasping her hands in his. "I've loved you since the first moment I laid eyes on you, maybe even before that. I've worn so many disguises, I'm not sure I even know who I am anymore. But if I could be Ben Solo again for anybody, it would be for you."

The kiss they shared wasn't as heated as before. It was full of light and hope reflecting the pureness of their feelings for each other. If love could truly conquer all, they would have nothing to fear. Weariness got the better of them and they laid down on the altar block in the comfort of each other's arms. Kylo rested his head against hers allowing himself to savour the moment. Tomorrow would dawn soon enough.

* * *

Leia missed the Mirrorbright. She managed to hang onto it for as long as she could after the formation of the resistance. However, she eventually had to concede that her old transport was far too conspicuous for someone operating outside of the law. Everyone knew its distinctive design and she could hardly travel incognito in such a ship. It almost broke her heart to trade it in, but she'd lost more precious things.

Once again, she had to watch husband leave on another crazy mission. He never said no to her, even when he probably should. At least she had Luke with her this time. The small cruiser they had been forced to commandeer was one of the resistance's oldest vessels. It dated back to the early days of the New Republic making it almost the same age as her son. Leia blinked back her tears; she couldn't afford to get sentimental now.

The comlink crackled and Han's voice came through loud and clear.

"It's just like old times," he quipped. "Oh, and don't worry about me. This baby still has a few surprises left in her."

Leia rolled her eyes as she looked out of a small viewing port on the cruiser to see the Falcon accelerating away into deep space. "That ship is held together by rust and stubbornness."

"All the best ones are, sweetheart," he said with his customary smirk.

His wife couldn't see it but she pictured it all the same.

"I know you have misgivings about this, I do too." Leia gave a weary sigh, fearing what would happen if they succeeded almost as much as the consequences of their failure. "You know I wouldn't ask this of you or Chewie if there was another way."

Her voice on the comlink screen faded and some of her words were lost to the interference.

"Poe just sent an update...triggered the detonation sequence...set to self-destruct...do not have much time... will obliterate anything in close orbit as well as everything on the planet...it has never been tested…"

Chewbacca growled as a warning light on the console started to flash.

"Set the coordinates for Daxam Four," Han instructed his co-pilot as he fiddled with the comlink.

Leia's voice came in and out with the static but he caught her meaning.

"The First Order is on their way...get out as soon as you get my signal...afraid I won't see you again... love you."

"Hey, I know and I came back from the dead, remember?" Han said knowing she was hardly likely to forget. "This is gonna be a piece of cake."

His wife's next communication came through as clear as a bell.

"Good, because I've already held one memorial service for you and I'll be damned if I'm sitting through another of Threepio's eulogies for anyone."

* * *

Hux longed to be back on the Finalizer. He hated to be away from the bridge at such a crucial time. His officers were tracking Han Solo's movements but the resistance was not a threat to be taken lightly, not after Starkiller. All First Order bases had been put on high alert and he was confident their shields were impregnable. Regnian had recently brought a series of powerful laser cannons online which could blast any approaching ship out of close orbit. Secure as their defences were, something niggled at the back of his mind. Daxam IV had been left relatively unprotected to maintain the secrecy surrounding it. It was remote enough to escape most people's notice, but any increase in traffic to and from the planet could attract unwelcome attention, especially from resistance spies. The existence of the Shadow Wing Project was known only to a handful in the upper echelons of command. Unfortunately, Kylo Ren ranked among that number and Snoke had been unable to determine if he had managed to pass the information on. When the message came through informing Hux of Han Solo's projected destination, he cursed himself for once again failing to follow his gut instincts. He had allowed his desire to personally witness Kylo Ren's downfall deflect him from his true purpose. The Finalizer awaited his command and the resistance would feel the full force of the First Order's wrath.

Supreme Leader Snoke did not appreciate being disturbed in his dark meditation. His patience with his general had long since reached its limits. He had chosen poorly when it came to his commanders, but he placed none of the blame for their failings on himself. The pickings had been slim, to begin with, and he'd done all he could to turn weakness into strength.

"What is it, general?" He hissed from his high throne.

There were six masked figures at the foot of the dais; the Knights of Ren.

"Supreme Leader, the resistance are headed to Daxam Four." Hux's voice held steady despite his wariness. "Ren must have betrayed us as we feared."

"Weapons can be rebuilt." Snoke's confident tone never wavered. "They can't destroy that one without destroying themselves along with it."

"I shall take the Finalizer and the main fleet and obliterate them before they can even attempt it," Hux snarled his nostrils flaring with anger.

"Send your ships, general, but you will remain here," Snoke ordered. "If your officers fail, I shall have two executions to oversee today."

Hux's eyes widened in alarm, "Supreme Leader, my officers will operate better under my direct command," he spluttered. "We will not fail you a second time."

The silence that stretched out between them became unbearable. The general tugged at his collar feeling a sudden constriction. The tightness wasn't enough to choke him only to make it hard for him to swallow. He wasn't sure if Snoke was toying with him or if it was just a symptom of his own terror.

"Go," the pale creature commanded after what felt like an eternity. "Bring Kylo Ren and the girl to me."

The general dared not argue. He scurried out as fast as his remaining dignity would permit him. His pleasure at being around to witness Ren's execution was more than countered by the need to avoid his own. The resistance was a tricky bunch, and as well trained as his officers were, Hux feared another defeat. He went on ahead of his Stormtroopers, an idea half forming in his mind. Like his father before him, it was the founding principles of the First order that held his loyalty. He had served with honour by his estimation and would not suffer an ignominious end. Besides, who would care for Millicent if anything should happen to him? Lieutenant Hidalgo knew her better than most but he was far too liberal with her treats, she would end up resembling a Hutt. Hux reached the door of the altar room and hesitated outside as he pondered his plan. The girl might be of use, she certainly displayed great strength and courage against Snoke. He couldn't rely on Ren. The two of them had never seen eye to eye even when they were supposedly on the same side. But an uneasy alliance might be formed in their mutual interests. He would worry about disposing of them once they had destroyed Snoke. Before he could turn any of his thoughts into actions, he heard the sound of his small band of troops approaching.

"Stand ready," the general ordered maintaining the military bearing he had spent a lifetime honing.

The Stormtroopers raised their blasters as Hux keyed in the code to open the door.

In the dimly lit chamber, he saw the two figures inside locked in a sleepy embrace on the altar. The black cape the girl had worn was draped over them as they stirred, woken from their slumber by the sudden intrusion.

"On your feet, both of you," the general barked.

Kylo sprang up glaring fiercely at his former co-commander. He looked dark and wild as his lips twisted into an angry snarl.

Hux beckoned the Stormtroopers forward instructing them to secure the prisoners.

Rey arose to stand beside Ben slipping her hand into his defiance blazing in her eyes.

"The Supreme Leader is waiting," the general informed them.

There were beads of sweat on his brow as he felt Ren's mind brushing against his. He either intended to attempt the Jedi mind trick or he sought information. Hux hoped for the latter and didn't resist the invasion. At first, searing pain scattered his thoughts but it was short lived. He focused on his half-baked plan, broadcasting it as clearly as he could.

_We need to get to the shuttle. A direct hit from the laser cannons on the temple's peak will unleash the power of the prototype for the Shadow Wing weapon that's housed there. It will destroy the whole planet and everything on it._

The general watched the realisation dawn on Ren's face. Kylo gripped Rey's hand tighter and something unseen passed between them. She knew his thoughts as if they were her own and they raised their free palms in unison. The resulting force push sent the Stormtroopers back with such force they smashed into the wall and landed in a broken, tangled heap.

Hux grabbed a blaster and ran out into the corridor.

"This way," he hissed impatiently at his force-wielding companions as they stooped to pick up their own weapons.

Kylo would sooner have had his lightsaber but beggars couldn't be choosers.

"If you're leading us into another trap, it will be the last thing you ever do," he snarled at the ginger haired general.

Hux's face glowed with anger and exasperation.

"Listen, you - you _rockhead_ , Snoke has spent too long in this Sithing hell. He's gone completely mad and he plans to kill us all. We have to do for him before he does for us."

Rey didn't like Hux anymore than Ben did but he had a plan that might work. It certainly beat the alternative and they could take the general prisoner once they were free. The three of them wound their way through the dark maze of passages until they reached the great shield that covered the entrance to the temple. Hux keyed it the security code to open it but it didn't work. He frantically tried again and again with the same result. Kylo growled in frustration and shot at it with his blaster. Still, the shield did not budge. In desperation, they turned to look for another way out only to find the Knights of Ren advancing towards them with their weapons drawn.

"Stop, I command you." Kylo's order went unheeded. The black-masked figures no longer recognised him as their master.

Hux and Rey fired on them to no effect. The force could not stop them, either.

Snoke's voice rang through their minds.

"Did you think you could escape me, pitiful fools?" he mocked. "When I'm done with you, you will all beg for the sweet release of death."

Hux, Kylo and Rey clutched at their heads crying out in pain. Their knees buckled under the unrelenting agony until all three dropped motionless to the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Mirrorbright is Leia's personal transport ship in the novel Bloodline by Claudia Gray.
> 
> Thanks again to everyone reading this fic, leaving comments and kudos, it's much appreciated - Mrs. P


	12. Chapter 12

Han brought the Falcon out of hyperspace exchanging a look of resignation with his co-pilot. Chewie gave a soft growl in reply. Nothing else needed to be said, they'd been in similar situations too many times before. Every one of them could have been their last. And yet, there they were, still fighting the good fight. Their luck had to run out at some point. Maybe today would be the day. The First Order's fleet would be arriving hot on their heels and that was the least of their worries.

Poe's voice came over the comlink. "Captain Solo, this is Black One, detonation will occur in ten minutes and counting. Say the word we'll stay behind and cover you."

Red and Blue squadrons were on standby. However, General Organa's orders about returning to the rendezvous site had been clear, even if recent events had necessitated a slight change of plan. The Shadow Wing weapon had a built-in self-destruct mechanism that had been triggered by their ground assault. It couldn't now be secured to barter for Ben and Rey's lives. The best the resistance could hope for was to maximise the impact of its destructive power by taking out as much of the First Order's fleet as they could.

"Thanks, Commander Dameron, but we've got this." Han exchanged another silent look with Chewbacca. "You'd better get yourselves to the rendezvous point. The General will be waiting for you."

"Give 'em hell, captain," Poe said sure if anyone could beat the odds it would be Han Solo.

The old smuggler gave a wry smile. "Don't I always?"

* * *

On an ocean moon far from Daxam IV, two siblings sat side by side on a rocky shore looking out at the horizon. It wasn't ideal as rendezvous sites went, but it would do. The comlink on their ship had gone down and they decided to get some air while C-3PO and R2-D2 attempted to fix it. There had been no word from Han or anyone else, and they hoped it was because of technical difficulties rather than the alternative.

"I can't help but feel I've lost them both again." Leia wasn't given to despairing, but under the circumstances, she found it hard to shake the bad feeling in her gut. "Without that weapon, we've got no leverage. We don't even know where Ben and Rey are, although I do believe my son is still alive, for now at least." Luke sighed and she sensed his unease. "What is it?" She inquired.

"During my meditation, I had a vision. It was the briefest of glimpses and shrouded in an impenetrable darkness. I've never experienced anything like it before, not even in the presence of the Emperor."

"Or Vader?" Leia added.

Her brother gave her the silent look of disappointment he reserved for whenever she talked about their father being anyone other than Anakin Skywalker.

"There was always good in him," he reminded her, "you just couldn't see it. For six long years, you held on to the belief that Ben still had light in him. Why is it so hard for you to think of our father that way?"

Leia never got to witness that side of Darth Vader. She had come to accept the truth that Anakin Skywalker was her biological father but she could never imagine him in Bail Organa's place. Her unwelcome notoriety across the galaxy had been due to her exposure as Vader's daughter. Those people who had shunned and reviled her based their judgement on that fact alone. Her service to the New Republic and her part in the rebellion were swept aside by their harsh judgement. There were moments of dark reflection, after she'd been forced to make ruthless decisions and knowing her hands weren't entirely clean, that made her contemplate how far removed from Vader she actually was, but she hadn't wanted to dwell on it. As she thought about her son, she experienced a moment of clarity; a parent's love for their child could survive in the darkest of places. Her father found his way back to the light because of it.

"I'm sorry," she said taking her brother's hand in hers. "I wish I'd met Anakin Skywalker."

"But you did, Leia, you did. He was there the whole time." Luke insisted and she didn't argue. After a moment of silent reflection, he spoke again. "My vision - I might have an idea where Snoke is."

His sister stared at him aghast; she'd forgotten all mention of it while musing on her father.

"If that's where Ben and Rey are, we have to go there," she said springing to her feet and placing her hands on her hips.

Luke shook his head. "That's why I hesitated to say anything. If I'm right, it's a place no one in their right mind would go to. Besides, we won't get very far in a beat up old transport ship with practically nothing in the way of shields or weapons. We should at least wait until we can contact Han, Poe and the rest of the resistance."

Leia was struck by a sudden overwhelming sense of urgency. "Ben needs us now," she argued. "If we delay it might be too late, for my son and for Rey."

Her brother met her defiant glare, secretly knowing it would be fruitless to carry on debating.

Leia knew how to rally him. "Where's that old rebel spirit?"

Luke gave a weary sigh; he felt the same sense of urgency and desire to act on it. "Come on then, let's go and find them and bring them home."

* * *

Rey opened her eyes, although it took great effort. She could feel the hard ground against her cheek and tried to ease herself into a sitting position. The effort exacerbated the throbbing pain in her head and she fought the urge to vomit. If not for her empty stomach, she wouldn't have been able to hold back. It took a moment for her vision to come into focus, and when it did, she glanced around desperate to locate Ben. He lay slumped on the ground a few feet to her right, still unconscious and bound at the hands and feet. General Hux, like her, had not been restrained. He was sprawled out on the floor at the foot of the dais. She sensed he was alive, but for how long, she didn't like to speculate. The Knights of Ren kept guard as Snoke sat on his throne regarding them all with his beady eyes. Malevolence radiated off him with such intensity, Rey felt it crashing against her like a wave. He attempted to pull her under but she clung to the light inside as if it were a rock. She took a deep breath and scrambled to her feet, giddy and unsteady.

"Again you demonstrate your resilience, scavenger," the pale creature sneered.

She kept her eyes on Ben watching his chest rise and fall with deep and even breaths. It helped to calm her, and there was something else - a strange sensation she couldn't put a name to, but she felt protected somehow as bizarre as it seemed under the circumstances.

"Kylo Ren pledged his life to me and I intend to collect on that debt," Snoke threatened, a chilling smile on his lips.

Rey tried to ignore his taunts, but he began pushing into her mind. She couldn't keep him out and block his words at the same time.

"He's told you he loves you, and you believe him. You're so desperate to be loved and wanted, aren't you, poor creature?"

Her head filled with an image of her as a small child, not long after her abandonment on Jakku. She hadn't eaten for days. Crippled with fear and loneliness, she'd curled up in the toppled AT-AT that had become her only shelter from the harsh desert climate. She clutched her cobbled together little pilot doll in her hand and expected to die, but she didn't.

"No one cared if you lived or died then and no one will care now," Snoke's mocking tone pierced her heart. "There is not enough of Ben Solo left to love you, he's but a shadow. He knows he can never return, no matter what pretty lies he's spun for you. Will you wait forever for people who will never come back for you?"

Rey couldn't catch her breath as the weight of years of hardship and lingering insecurities crushed her. At that moment, Ben started to revive. His eyelids fluttered and he jerked his head up searching her out. He tried to reach for her only to be prevented by his bindings. She managed to brush his cheek with her fingertips before a couple of the Knights of Ren dragged her away. With that one brief touch, she felt the grip of the darkness evaporate. She knew with absolute certainty Ben loved her and she held on to it.

Snoke addressed Rey with mounting impatience. "We have an execution to perform, do we not?"

Hux began to groan and writhe around on the ground in front of them. Surprised to find himself unrestrained, he jumped to his feet. A couple of knights seized the beleaguered general as he attempted to flee. Another two stepped forward and grabbed Kylo Ren hauling him up onto his knees. The final pair of knights hovered close to Rey but did not attempt to restrain her. One of them removed a lightsaber hilt from his belt and held it out to her. She turned to meet Ben's gaze finding sadness but also serenity in his eyes. Through their bond, she again sensed his love for her and his insistence that she should let him go.

"Take the saber, girl, and save your friends," Snoke commanded.

Rey's curled her lip in rage; no one would take Ben away from her, least of all him. The strange feeling she'd experienced before started to rise in her again only now it burned like fire. No longer an insignificant scavenger abandoned and unwanted, she called upon the force. The darkness wanted to consume her but she wouldn't let it. It wasn't revenge she wanted, it was justice. The fire inside her turned into a calming wave that washed over her. It quenched her anger and filled her with light.

"Your eyes," Ben gasped.

As the energy surged through her veins, her vision became infused with a bright green glow. Her whole body began to crackle and electric sparks danced on her skin. She fell into a meditative state, aware but not consciously in control, allowing the force to flow through her.

Snoke looked on in horror and looked to his knights in desperation. "Kill them all," he roared, but his words came too late.

Rey instinctively shot bolts of green lightning at them as they advanced on her, disintegrating the Knights of Ren on contact. The whole temple began to shake and crumble as she turned the full force of the energy that flowed through her onto Snoke. He shrieked and wailed in protest as his pale ruin of a body began to crumble. From his scarred face to his withered feet, he turned to dust before their eyes.

Ben watched Rey in awe as the creature, who'd been his puppet master for so long, was destroyed. If he hadn't already been on his knees, he would have fallen to them in grateful adoration of her.

Hux turned his gaze away, Snoke had gone and he wasn't sorry. His instincts were more attuned to self-preservation. As the ground cracked beneath him, he dodged pieces of falling stone and ran for the door. His only concern getting out alive. The others could rot as long as he got to his shuttle and away from that wretched planet.

The green energy faded leaving Rey stunned and exhausted. She sank to her knees in a daze. Ben knew there was no time to linger as the temple continued to disintegrate around them.

"We have to get out of here right now," he yelled struggling against his binds.

She nodded wearily counting on adrenaline to get her back on her feet. Both of them had so many questions about what had just happened, but they could wait. She grabbed the lightsaber hilt that had fallen to the ground after the knight holding it had been reduced to dust. Igniting the purple blade, she used it to cut Ben free. He grabbed hold of her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Come on, my love, we have to catch up with Hux before he leaves us stranded," he said pulling her along with him.

Her legs buckled beneath her as exhaustion overtook her. Ben caught her before she fell, sweeping her up into his arms as if she weighed nothing at all. He dodged the falling masonry and bounded towards the temple entrance, at least Hux had left it open. The ground continued to splinter and shake beneath his feet, but Ben remained sure-footed determined to protect his precious cargo. He squinted into the darkness barely able to make out the outline of the command shuttle through the gloom. Suddenly, its red lights flared on and its pointed wings extended as the ion engines roared to life.

"Hux, you slimy mud worm, don't you dare leave us here," Ben snarled as he raced towards the landing platform clutching a limp-bodied Rey to him.

Behind him, the temple continued to collapse in on itself. The weapon housed at its peak would be unleashed if the outer shell were to topple and there would be no way to survive its deadly might.

"Noooooo!" he roared as the shuttle ascended into the murky atmosphere.

Rey's eyes flicked open and she gazed up at him in a silent understanding of their situation.

"I've failed you again," Ben cried. "You saved me and I can't save you."

He hung his head in despair.

"No, you haven't failed me," she gasped summoning what strength she could to hook her hands around his neck and pull his mouth to hers.

Their lips met in a tender kiss as he cradled her to him. For a sweet moment, nothing else mattered. But then, the fearsome sound of the temple swaying on its foundations broke the illusion. Ben shuddered, his lack of shirt didn't bother him, it wasn't cold on Malachor, but the dread of what was about to happen put a chill in his heart. He could only hold onto Rey until the scourge took them. Would someone happen upon their petrified remains at some point in the future, he wondered. Perhaps one day they would inspire romantic ballads; the doomed lovers preserved forever in an eternal embrace.

The sound of a roar in the sky above them roused him from his melancholy thoughts. Ben jerked his head up to see an old transport ship being buffeted erratically by the atmosphere. He gathered Rey back up in his arms and moved clear of the platform as the ship attempted to land. It came down with a heavy thud shaking the fuselage, which luckily inflicted no lasting damage.

The ramp opened up and the golden figure of C-3PO appeared. "Hurry, Master Ben," he shrieked. "This is madness!"

Ben clasped Rey tightly to him, took a deep breath and ran aboard. All he cared about was keeping her safe. Whatever else awaited him, he would deal with it. The hatch closed behind them and he suddenly found himself face to face with his mother. She looked older than he remembered but every bit as formidable. Leia pressed her lips together trying to hold back her tears. There would be a time and place for talking and weeping, this wasn't it. The ship started to judder as it breached the planet's atmosphere.

"We need to get out of here before that weapon blows," Kylo warned. "It will take us with it if we don't get clear."

"We know," Leia said, "Luke sensed where you were and saw the danger."

The old Jedi shouted from the cockpit. "Hold on, we're about to hit light speed."

"This time, we're all doomed for sure," Threepio wailed.

His mother ushered them over to the passenger seating. After a few seconds, the ship stopped shaking and they were safely in hyperspace. Kylo kept Rey on his lap holding her close as she recovered her strength. She nuzzled against his bare chest, taking comfort in the steady thud of his heartbeat.

"Are you hurt, dear?" Leia looked on with concern.

"She'll be fine," Kylo answered for her, sensing Rey was too traumatised by recent events to speak.

His mother gave him a sceptical look.

He frowned. "Something happened. I don't know what exactly; I only know Rey is the most amazing person in the whole galaxy."

Leia wasn't about to disagree, not while the son she thought lost forever sat mere inches away from her, the light in him brighter than ever before.

"It's good to see you, Ben," she said moving her hand closer to his. As much as she longed to reach out and touch him, she held back.

He caught Rey's gaze and saw her silently encouraging him to bridge the gap.

"I missed you, mom," he confessed his voice little more than a whisper as he covered her small hand with his much larger one.

Leia leaned into him, stifling a sob as he hugged the two women he loved most in the whole galaxy to his chest.

Their tender moment couldn't last long and C-3PO blundered in with his usual knack for bad timing.

"Princess, I mean general," he corrected himself; "R2-D2 has fixed the comlink. We can try and contact the others once we come out of hyperspace."

Leia nodded. "Thank you, Threepio."

The droid bowed his head and half turned to leave. "Captain Solo has beaten worse odds before, I am sure he will do so again," he added before re-entering to the cockpit.

Ben and Rey waited expectantly for Leia to explain.

"The First Order implanted a tracking chip at the base of Han's skull. I thought we could use it as a diversion for a sneak attack, but things didn't go exactly the way we planned," she frowned.

"Have they captured him?" Rey asked finding her voice again.

"The Shadow Wing weapon accidentally got activated," the general said. "We hoped to retrieve it intact to trade for you two, but that went to hell. The First Order was tracking Han, so we decided to use him as bait to lure their fleet into a trap. He would get them close enough to the planet so that they'd be destroyed when the weapon detonated."

"What about dad?" Ben inquired the same cold dread creeping over him as when he'd stood on that bridge back on Starkiller Base.

Leia sensed his thoughts, the guilt was written all over his face. "Your father is too stubborn to die, or stay dead, you should know that."

He hung his head in shame as Rey reached up to touch the scar on his face. "As happy as I was when we found him on Kamino, I knew it didn't absolve me of what I did. I can never take it back," Ben said unable to meet his mother's gaze.

Leia placed her hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "You came back. That's all that matters now." She knew it wouldn't be so easy to convince the others, let alone the factions outside her control.

The ship juddered slightly as they came out of hyperspace.

"General Hux survived," Ben informed her, "The First Order aren't done yet even without their main fleet."

His mother nodded, gravely. "There is a canteen of water and some provisions in that crate," she pointed to the seats behind them. "You both look like you could use some refreshments."

Rey smiled gratefully still feeling too weak to stand. Ben drew her hand up to his lips and kissed it. He eased her back onto the seat as he got up to fetch her something to eat and drink.

Leia looked on in wonderment to see how he towered above her. "I doubt we've got any spare clothing to fit you. We don't get many tall resistance fighters. Those that are generally come equipped with their own fur."

Ben's grin soon sank into a frown as he worried about how Chewbacca would react to his return.

His mother once again reached out to him. "I won't pretend it's going to be easy, son, but you'll have us." Rey took his hand her devotion to him shining in her eyes. "We love you and your father loves you. Your Uncle Luke never gave up hope you would embrace the light. I know you and he will need to talk, but he loves you too. Whatever happens, we'll face it all together."

He drew both their hands to his lips and kissed them in turn.

The clattering sound of metal feet signalled the appearance of C-3PO.

"Princess, I mean, general, come quickly, Commander Dameron has an urgent message for you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Rey saving the day was a bit of a deus ex machina. But in Star Wars Legends, there was a thing called Electric Judgement which was similar to what I used here. It was a sort of Jedi version of Force Lightning, although it wasn't looked on kindly by the Jedi in general due to the negative emotions required to generate it.
> 
> Thank you all for your continued support Mrs. P


	13. Chapter 13

Leia managed to keep her expression neutral despite her deep concern. Dameron's voice faded out a few times but she got the gist of what he had to say; Han and Chewie hadn't reported in and they were not at the rendezvous site.

"The blast from the Shadow Wing messed with our hyperdrive calculations and it probably threw the Falcon off course too. It's gonna take us a few hours to get back on track but I could take a small team and scan the surrounding area," Poe suggested. "As long as we don't get too close to Daxam Four, we should be okay."

The general shook her head. She had to do what she'd always striven to do and not let emotions cloud her judgement. There were few occasions when her personal interests had taken precedence over the greater good. She briefly thought back to when she'd mounted the rescue mission to rescue Han from Jabba's Palace. Being young and desperately in love had been a challenge to her usual hard-headed approach. But now, much as she needed to know if Han and Chewie had survived, she wouldn't put anyone else in danger to find out. Their numbers were too few. Whether the plan to destroy the First Order's fleet had succeeded or not, the resistance had to regroup and assess the situation.

"Proceed to the rendezvous site," Leia commanded. "Han and Chewie will find a way back to us if they can."

Poe hesitated but he had to address the other pressing matter.

"It ain't my place to question your methods but are you sure about bringing _him_ back with you?"

Leia heaved a weary sigh. Maybe it had been unfair and unrealistic of her, but she'd hoped he would find it within himself to give Ben a chance. She wondered if she would ever have been able to extend the same courtesy to Anakin Skywalker. It had taken her years to get to a place where the mere idea of him being her father didn't make her feel physically ill. When you'd been at the mercy of someone at their worst, it was nigh on impossible to imagine them any other way.

"I trust you know I wouldn't bring him if I believed him to be a danger to us."

She had made it about her judgement and his loyalty, two things she hoped could always be counted on. Poe seemed resigned, if not entirely happy about it. She understood and couldn't blame him for being wary. There might come a point when it wasn't feasible or safe for her son to remain with her, but she refused to contemplate letting him go when she'd only just got him back.

Outside of the family, only a select few knew of Ben Solo's deadly alias. Leia figured others might suspect it. All doubt would surely be removed with his sudden reappearance. His death had been rumoured when news spread of the slaughter of Luke's padawans. After her brother went into self-enforced exile, neither she nor Han sought to set the record straight. The fallout from the public revelation that Darth Vader was her father had been too raw to repeat with her son's new identity. Ben Solo went missing and Kylo Ren emerged. Now the situation had reversed. Leia wondered how much of the boy she once knew had come back.

Luke had kept himself busy at the controls of the transport. In truth, he could have left the auto systems to do the work, but he wasn't yet ready to venture beyond the cockpit. He sensed what had happened with Rey and it troubled him deeply. There were matters he wanted to meditate on before talking to his padawan. As for dealing with the return of his nephew, a salutary greeting would hardly suffice.

"I spent so many lonely hours going over all the things I could have done differently with Ben. But none of us can change the mistakes we made in the past. We can only try not to repeat them in the future." Leia turned to her brother feeling the conflict within him. "Perhaps it's time for you to set the Jedi on a new path. Isn't that what all your research has been about?"

"I tried to rebuild the Jedi Order once before." Luke frowned. "As you know, it didn't go so well."

"You've been too concerned with the past to look to the future."

He appeared hurt by his sister's reproach.

"I'm not blaming you," she quickly added. "I tried my damnedest, but I couldn't prevent the New Republic repeating the same kind of mistakes as the Old Republic. We have to find a better way."

Luke heaved a weary sigh. Snoke might be gone but the darkness wasn't. It survived the end of the Sith just as the light would endure without the Jedi. His studies had led him to a deeper understanding of the force but he still held fast to what Obi-Wan and Yoda had taught him.

"Perhaps our time is past," he mused. "Our ways are not the only way. We had our shot to get it right and we failed."

Leia shook her head, dismayed at his despondency. "I wouldn't class my son sitting peacefully aboard this ship as failing," she argued.

After a moment's quiet contemplation, she grudgingly saw some sense in what her brother said. If the resistance refused to accept Ben into the fold, maybe she should stand aside as their leader. She had missed out on too much of her family life. If Han returned, and even if he didn't, she needed to adjust her priorities. She peeked out from the cockpit to see her son and Rey asleep in each other's arms. The risqué dress the young woman wore, and had declared she couldn't wait to change out of, caused Leia to give a wry smile. As a captive of Jabba the Hutt, she too had borne the ignominy of her enemy's questionable wardrobe choices. She found out many years later that her actions in ending his vile reign had earned her the title of Huttslayer. Maybe Rey would be similarly rewarded for defeating Snoke. Tears filled her eyes as she noted how Ben had draped a blanket around Rey's shoulders. Han had done something similar for her in an effort to preserve her dignity after their escape from Tatooine. Leia wiped her eyes; her husband had to return, she needed his no-nonsense counsel and support more than ever.

Ben feigned sleep to avoid speaking to his mother. He could read her misgivings and those of his uncle. His abilities were a curse when it came to uncomfortable truths. It wasn't as if he'd expected anything else. He knew what he ought to do, but as always, he wasn't sure he would have the strength to do it. Rey had succumbed to her exhaustion despite the anxiety that raged within her about her power. If he had used his to lull her into a peaceful state, he couldn't be sorry for it. Her head rested against his chest and he softly stroked her hair, savouring having her close. She thought facing Snoke was as bad as it got, but they hadn't faced her friends yet.

* * *

Luke brought the transport out of hyperspace. The ocean moon orbited an uninhabited planet at the furthest point of the western reaches. No communication had been received from the Falcon and hope had all but faded. Leia kept herself distracted by fussing over her son and Rey.

"As soon as we land, I want Doctor Kalonia to check you both over," she insisted despite their protests. "You might have hidden trackers and we don't want any more nasty surprises."

Ben fidgeted with the blanket he'd used to cover his bare torso. He wouldn't have the most dignified of introductions to the resistance. Perhaps he didn't deserve any better.

"Stop that," Rey chided sensing his thoughts.

Humility wasn't something he'd been accustomed to in recent years. He gave a sulky pout at the idea of prostrating himself before those who had so recently been his enemy. However, of all the things he might be, a coward wasn't one of them.

"I'll talk to them," Leia assured him, sensing his apprehension.

Luke guided the transport through the atmosphere and set a course for the ocean moon's lone island. The other resistance ships, with the glaring exception of the Millennium Falcon, were already docked there. Once they had landed safely, the old Jedi finally emerged from the cockpit and acknowledged his nephew.

"It's good to see you, Ben," he said his expression earnest.

The younger man found he couldn't return the sentiment, not until they had spoken of that day six years ago when their lives had changed forever.

Through the viewport, they could see that the resistance members gathering and waiting for them to disembark.

Before Luke and Leia could follow C-3PO and R2-D2 down the landing ramp, Ben requested that they stay a moment. There were things he needed to say and options to be discussed. Rey threw him a warning look and he refused to meet her gaze.

"You should tell them the truth about me. If they don't want me here, I shouldn't stay. All I need is a small ship and I'll disappear. I could do what you did," he said turning to his uncle, "and go somewhere no one in the galaxy would ever find me."

"Rey found me," Luke pointedly replied.

The young woman by his side was heartbroken. "You'd leave us?" she asked tears in her eyes. "You would leave me?"

Ben reached for her hand but she shrank from his touch. "I couldn't ask you to come with me. After all those lonely years on Jakku you have so many friends here. How could I take you away from people who love and care about you? I've been a selfish creature for too long and I can't do that to you, I won't."

Rey felt torn; she didn't want to lose Finn, Poe and all the others who'd become so dear to her, but she couldn't bear the thought of being parted from the man she loved.

"Won't you stay for me? You might be able to win the rest over in time, if you'd only stop being such a misery guts," she argued.

Leia gave her son a stern look. "I can only ask them to take a chance on you, but you have to do the same for them."

"No more talk of leaving," Rey warned as she wrapped her arm around his and held fast to it.

He gave a weak nod in agreement as they moved to exit the ship. All eyes were on him as the general moved to address the crowd. Poe appeared stoic but Finn looked horrified to see his best friend on the arm of the man who'd left him for dead.

Leia turned to him still holding onto a shred of hope, "Any news, Commander Dameron?"

He shook his head ruefully. "We checked the long range scanners but we didn't pick up anything."

Luke put his hand on his sister's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. She drew strength from having her remaining family at her side.

"Establishing a secure base and gathering intelligence from our contacts throughout the galaxy has to be our first priority," she declared. "Snoke might be dead, but General Hux will no doubt have seized control. The First Order still has the military advantage even without its main fleet and we have to strike before they do."

Finn barely took in any of the general's words. His gaze remained fixed on Kylo Ren and Rey. The way she looked at the fallen Jedi tormented him. The rest of the crowd were no less interested in the mysterious tall dark-haired man with a hint of Han Solo in his features, although not for the same reasons.

Leia knew she had to address the matter. She pulled at the hem of her vest and smoothed back her hair to give herself a moment to prepare.

"Many of you have been with us since the formation of the resistance, and in a few cases, even longer than that. You know me and my brother and you know who our father was and what he did. Many of you will also know that Han and I have a son. You may have heard about his disappearance over six years ago. Well, today I'd like to introduce my son Ben Solo to you all."

At first, there was stunned silence and then the realisation hit them. Rey squeezed his hand for support as the crowd erupted into concerned chattering.

Poe stepped forward. "General, I've known you for a long time and I hope you know how deeply I respect you, but I can't give him a free pass - I just can't."

Finn couldn't hold back any longer, "Rey, what the hell, after everything he's done? I tried to understand but I'm with Poe on this."

The voices of dissent against Kylo Ren, for that's who he still was to them, rang out. Leia tried to argue that they needed to pull together and focus on taking down the rest of the First Order, but her voice got drowned out. Luke and Rey also attempted to intercede and appealed for calm only to be met with more recriminations.

Major Taslin Brance stepped forward. "Master Skywalker, your nephew presumably slaughtered his fellow students. How can you defend him when you know he's done even worse since?"

Ben's temper began to flare. For Rey's sake, he had placed himself in the hands of the resistance but he felt no affinity with them. Beyond the woman he'd fallen in love with, and the family he'd never quite been able to kill his affection for, he had no desire to ally with anyone else. It was to them he owed an explanation and not the angry rabble that surrounded him. But he would lay himself open before them all. Rey deserved that much from him at least after what she'd done.

"I can speak for myself," he insisted as those dear to him looked on with dread.

The mutterings of the crowd died down as they regarded him with suspicion-filled eyes.

"The force is strong in my family, that's what my mother and uncle always said. As a young boy, my uncle told me stories of those brave knights who had gone before, including my grandfather, Anakin Skywalker. I had been led to believe he perished when the Old Republic fell, but that wasn't the whole story. From an early age, I became aware of a dark shadow that whispered to me in the night. My parents assured me it was nothing more than bad dreams. But it continued and got louder and soon after, they sent me away to Uncle Luke to begin my Jedi training. Almost seven years ago, we travelled to a planet called Vrogas Vas which was the site of a ruined Jedi temple. My uncle's interest in collecting artefacts and old Jedi lore had led us there. It was a desolate place cut off from the rest of the galaxy by the atmospheric conditions which prevented communications getting in or out. We established a base camp and every so often my uncle would venture out to nearby trading planets for supplies. As the eldest padawan, I would keep watch over the other students. He set off early on that fateful day six years ago. The skies were stormy and the small black shuttle that arrived soon after my uncle's departure was masked for most of its descent by thick clouds and dust storms. I alerted the others to be ready and we all held up our lightsabers. A training saber is far less deadly than a real one, but it was all we had. Six figures clad from head to foot in black armour with deadly looking weapons emerged from the shuttle. As the one in charge, I stepped forward to ask what business they had on Vrogas Vas. To my complete astonishment, they all fell on bended knee before me. One of them addressed me, _"Supreme Leader Snoke of The First Order wishes to offer you the title of Master of the Knights of Ren. We would be honoured to call the grandson of Darth Vader our master,"_ he said. I couldn't believe my ears. Another of the knights stepped forward and produced a small datascreen. He held it up so we could see as a holovid played. It showed a senator called Ransolm Casterfo addressing an assembly meeting of the Galactic Senate where he exposed my mother as the daughter of Darth Vader. My fellow students and I stood and watched in shock. When it finished, one of the Knights presented me with a box. _"Here, behold your destiny,"_ he said. I sensed that whatever was inside was incredibly powerful. Suddenly, everything started to fall into place, from the shadow that had followed me around since birth to the way I'd struggled to control my emotions and the darkness that I'd felt calling to me. I had finally learned the truth; Anakin Skywalker had turned on the Jedi and become a Sith lord. I opened the box and inside I found the remains of a helmet I instinctively knew had belonged to my grandfather. It wanted me to touch it, and as my fingers brushed over it, the power of the dark side revealed itself to me. I saw a vision of my destiny; I had to finish what Darth Vader started. The next thing I knew, my fellow students lay dead around me and the Knights of Ren were leading me to their shuttle. Whether I killed them or they did, I could never be certain as it all passed in such a blur. After that, I got taken to Snoke and I pledged my loyalty to him, eventually." Ben gave a bitter laugh at how simple it all sounded when put like that. "I resisted at first because I still felt the pull to the light despite what happened. But let's just say Snoke had ways of bringing people around to his way of thinking."

His family and Rey looked on with horror at the implication of his words.

"I believed in the vision I'd had and so I renounced my birth name of Ben Solo and became Kylo Ren. The years passed and the feeling of being torn apart between light and dark only grew. Snoke would not complete my training as my uncle could not because I was neither one thing nor the other, and I grew impatient and desperate. I saw darkness as my destiny, that's what the vision showed me and what I chased. Only after I plunged my lightsaber through my father's heart did I began to realise how horribly mistaken I'd been. The moment Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber flew into Rey's hand; it was as if I was seeing clearly for the first time in years. Her luminosity almost blinded me and yet I couldn't look away. I wanted to bask in her light forever, even if I didn't consciously realise it until much later. She saved me, and perhaps the whole galaxy, by killing Snoke. Hux is just a man and a deeply flawed one at that. I don't expect the First Order to last long under his command. For Rey and for my family, I am willing to pledge my allegiance to the resistance and help in any way I can to defeat what remains of the First Order. But I will not stay where I'm not wanted." Ben retained his defiance.

"How about we put you in binders until you can face justice for your crimes?" Finn spat.

Rey turned to her friend with hurt in her eyes. "Everyone deserves a second chance, don't they?" She argued giving him a pointed look.

He shook his head in disbelief. "Not after the things he's done. Yes, I was a First Order Stormtrooper but I refused to kill for them."

"You've killed for the resistance, though, haven't you?" Ben sneered as he glanced around the crowd. "You've all killed for a cause you believe in and you would condemn me for the same."

"You can't compare what we've done to the slaughter of innocents," Major Brance protested.

"If even one innocent person has been killed by your actions then it is exactly the same," Ben countered. "I did not support the use of the Starkiller weapon and it was I who sent the datacard to warn you that the Illenium System had been targeted. I cannot take back the terrible things I've done and been a party to, but I can work to make some amends for it."

Rey grasped his hand tighter in solidarity as his mother and uncle flanked them.

"I feel as if I have been fighting my entire life," the general said her voice wavering with emotion, "I will not fight you, my friends, but my family must come first. It appears I have been widowed for a second time by the same man." She gave a wry chuckle as tears trickled down her cheeks. "Only Han Solo could pull off a feat like that."

Ben hugged her to him and the mood among the crowd began to shift.

"Either you all agree that Ben can stay with us or I will leave with him. I've lost too much to lose my son again." Leia laid down her ultimatum.

The debate swung back and forth with no agreement. Luke turned his gaze to the darkening sky. At first, he thought he had glimpsed the first star of the evening, and then he realised - it was no star.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies again for the lengthy delay in updating. Illness and other stuff got in the way. This is the penultimate chapter so we have almost reached the end. Thank you to everyone who has stuck with this story. Your support is much appreciated. - Mrs. P


	14. Chapter 14

"It's a trap!"

"I knew we couldn't trust him."

"He's led the First Order right to us."

The resistance erupted into a cacophony of angry accusations as the speck in the sky revealed itself to be a spaceship. Amidst the recriminations, it took a few seconds to realise what they were actually seeing.

"Is it? Could it really be?" Hopeful excitement soon replaced fear.

Leia watched in amazement before bursting into laughter, of course, it would be the Millennium Falcon. The old freighter danced around the darkening sky. As it headed in to make its landing, joy soon turned to concern as the ship appeared to be experiencing technical problems. It swooped down, skimming over the ocean and occasionally bouncing off the surface like a stone skipping on water. After a tense moment, the Falcon came to rest safely, if a little haphazardly, on the nearby rocky shore. Rey and Kylo exchanged a look of astonishment. The young woman set off to join the rest of the crowd pulling her beau along with her as they went to greet the returnees. When they reached the sand, he brought them to a halt insisting on hanging back as the others surged forward.

Leia got to the Falcon landing ramp first and she stood, arms folded, waiting for her husband to appear. "Han Solo, you impossible man," she playfully chided as he met her with his trademark smirk.

He wrapped his arms around her hugging her tightly to his chest. "You wouldn't have me any other way," he said before dropping a kiss on the top of her head.

Chewie joined the crowd in keeping a respectful distance to allow them to have their personal moment. When Han eventually tore his attention away from his wife, his gaze fell upon his son. The young man towered above the rest of the crowd wearing an uncertain expression among a sea of smiles.

"Ben," Han called out, a feeling of deja-vu gripping him as he recalled doing the same on Starkiller Base.

His son also remembered; the scene on that bridge flashed before his eyes and he suddenly couldn't breathe or move, completely frozen in horror by the memory.

"Hey, kid," his father's tone grew more insistent, "get over here."

Ben felt waves of healing comfort coming from Rey. She smiled and squeezed his hand before releasing it, silently urging him on. Taking a deep breath, he cleared his mind of the past. He walked hesitantly at first, passing through the crowd of gawking resistance fighters. Chewbacca met him with a low growl of hope and reconciliation. Ben got a lump in his throat when the Wookiee enfolded him in a hug and nestled gratefully against his fur. His mother reached out her hand to him with tears in her eyes; her son really had come home. He bowed his head to plant a kiss on her cheek. Finally, Ben turned to his father, both of them exchanging a look that spoke of years of sorrow and regret but also of love. Han threw his arms around his son who returned the hug with equal intensity. It was the reunion they should have had on Starkiller and now fate had granted them a second chance.

The voices of dissent against Kylo Ren had been momentarily silenced as a once fractured family reunited. As much as Rey's heart swelled with joy for them, she couldn't help feeling a twinge of sadness that the parents she'd long to meet again never existed. She glanced over at Finn and found he refused to meet her gaze. After everything they'd been through together; she feared their friendship might be lost forever.

Ben sensed her sorrow and broke away from his parents and uncle beckoning her to join him. She went gladly into his open arms. "You will never be alone again," he swore, peppering her face with kisses. "Not as long as I have anything to say about it."

Luke looked on with concern. He had some wisdom to impart that his nephew and Rey likely wouldn't want to hear. Both of them were in possession of powers they didn't fully understand or have completely under their command. Whatever future they were picturing together, he had to make sure they understood the potential pitfalls. He didn't know how far their passion had taken them but rushing headlong into marriage and reproducing would risk history repeating itself yet again. There were also matters to consider beyond the family.

"I must speak with you all," Luke said with urgency as he ushered his kin and padawan aside. "I have a proposal to make," his sister eyed him warily sensing his intentions. "I know of a place where Ben, Rey and I could go for a period of reflection." His nephew and padawan turned to him with matching looks of disbelief. He surely couldn't be suggesting taking them to some forsaken rock somewhere to repeat the errors of the past.

Leia baulked at the idea. "Exile, again, really? Luke, you know how much I love you but that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

"We've only just got our son back, I'll be damned if I'm gonna let you take him away again," Han argued his resolve firm.

"With all due respect, uncle, it didn't exactly work out too well the first time around." Ben knew that was the understatement of the century.

Luke shook his head determined they should heed his counsel. "You and Rey have powers you can't fully control or understand. It's a good thing for the galaxy that Snoke is no more but who knows what catastrophic damage the pair of you could unleash in future battles. And as for your personal - connection, have the two of you given any thought as to how you might parent a child, or stars forbid, twins, strong with the force?"

"The resistance needs our abilities to help defeat the First Order," Rey argued sensing her master's disappointment at her defiant attitude. What happened with Snoke had shaken her but Ben would be her anchor and her, his. "And as for children -" she blushed catching the gaze of the man by her side whose cheeks were also bright red. "That most definitely will not be an immediate concern." Dr. Kalonia had replaced the First Order contraceptive implant in her arm with a resistance issue one.

Ben couldn't pretend the future didn't concern him but he owed a debt to his parents and the woman by his side. He would fight for them and their cause. "I have to stay," he insisted. "I dare say we've all seen enough bloodshed to last ten lifetimes, but I will do what I can to make amends for my share of it."

"The other resistance factions and the remnants of the New Republic may not be so forgiving of your past actions, nephew. Please understand we have to do this, for your own sake and for everyone you care about," Luke beseeched as he turned to his sister.

Leia remained as steadfast as ever. "If we succeed in defeating the First Order and survive, it will be in no small part due to Ben and Rey. I won't let that be forgotten by anyone."

Doctor Kalonia set about removing the tracker from Han's head, disabling it in the process. He and Chewbacca were pretty sure the First Order's main fleet had been destroyed. However, Hux would already have their present location and so they needed to leave as soon as possible. The matter of where the resistance went from there needed to be settled and fast.

General Leia addressed the crowd. "How about we take a vote?" She suggested. "As you know, we've already scouted out a few potential locations for our next base. We have a place in mind and I want to finish what we started here but I won't do it without my family by my side."

"Hey, I know my son can be a pain in the ass." Han chipped in as Ben pouted. "But cut him some slack will you?"

"Why should we trust a single word your son says?" Poe questioned. "He doesn't believe in what we're fighting for. If we're gonna put an end to the First Order once and for all, I've gotta know that we've got each other's backs."

Ben threw the ace pilot a disdainful glance. "When we first met you were my enemy and you had information I needed. It wasn't personal so let's not make it that way now."

Leia threw her son an exasperated glance.

Rey stepped forward ignoring her former best friend's disapproving glare. "Ben and I share a bond and I know when he's telling the truth. I trust him wholeheartedly. He can't lie to me and if he says he will fight with us, then that's what he'll do."

"How can we trust you when you're sleeping with the enemy?" Finn cut in appearing more hurt than angry despite his jibe.

His accusation stung, especially as it had no foundation, her virginity and honour were still intact. Rey would rather have had this conversation in private but she wasn't ashamed of her feelings. She moved closer to Finn and looked into his eyes, her own growing misty with tears. "When I met you, I'd been alone for so long, I didn't know what it was to have a friend. You showed me. You came back for me. My love for Ben doesn't take anything away from our friendship, at least it shouldn't. Please, don't throw it away."

He couldn't help being affected by what she'd said, but his hatred for Kylo Ren couldn't be overcome. "I'm sorry, Rey, but I have to do what I believe is right," Finn declared. "General Organa, I will always be grateful that you gave me something I could fight for but I can't accept your son into the fold."

Rey stepped away from him and back into Ben's waiting arms tears spilling down her cheeks. The voting continued until those for and those against were evenly matched. It all came down to one person who had yet to declare their preference to tip the scales in either direction. Luke Skywalker stepped forward to the dismay of Finn and the others who had voted against joining with Kylo Ren.

"I vote for Ben to leave with me," he declared to the shock of the resistance and the dismay of his family. "Exile is the only way for now. You cannot defeat the First Order if you're fighting among yourselves."

Something occurred to Finn as he listening to the old Jedi; Kylo Ren shouldn't get to walk away from the mess he helped create. Because of his feelings for Rey, he had let himself be blinded by jealousy. Although he hated the idea of fighting alongside the man he still saw as his enemy, he wasn't about to let him off the hook, either.

"Wait a minute," Finn shouted loud enough to silence the bickering that had broken out. "I want to change my vote." The others stared at him in amazement. "I know what I said and I would happily see him rot in a cell for everything he's done, but there will be no justice for anyone until the First Order is no more. Kylo Ren helped create it and now Ben Solo wants to help destroy it. I might not see a difference between the two, but Rey does, and I owe her my trust. We all do, after what she did to take down Snoke." Her lips trembled with emotion as he met her gaze. "Can you forgive me, my friend?" He asked ashamed to have hurt her.

She first looked to Ben, who managed a nod of encouragement despite his sour expression, before flinging her arms around Finn.

"I told you once before, you won't easily get rid of me," Rey sniffed back her tears as they hugged.

Luke expressed his unease with the decision but didn't press to overturn it. The resistance accepted the outcome of the vote without further argument. General Organa instructed everyone to get to their ships and proceed to the location of the new base.

* * *

The Falcon had suffered some minor damage to its ion flux stabilisers but Chewbacca managed to patch it up. He continued to tinker with the wiring to keep out of the way of the family. Han and Leia stayed in the cockpit while Luke took a seat by the dejarik table. He glanced uneasily in the direction of the crew sleeping quarters, wondering if it was wise to leave Rey and Ben unchaperoned. His nephew had undoubtedly found some measure of peace and balance within himself, something his teachings had never been able to achieve. He couldn't help but be troubled as he wondered how much of it was dependent on Rey. Perhaps it would be prudent to keep them separated as much as possible to ensure his rehabilitation could survive without her. Somehow, he didn't see either of them agreeing to such a proposition.

As Luke's gaze drifted idly around the interior of the old freighter, he remembered his first impression of it with a wry smile. For a piece of junk, she wasn't doing so badly. If only his family had held together so well over the years, he thought and then chastised himself for hanging on to past unhappiness. In spite of all that had gone before, they were together now and that's what counted.

"Skulking around on your own as usual," Leia gently teased announcing her presence as she took a seat beside him.

"You know me." Luke gave a wistful sigh. "I did think about checking on Rey and Ben, although I doubt my nephew would welcome the intrusion. He may be without his lightsaber but his temper more than makes up for that," he said not entirely in jest.

"She's calmed him, tamed him, even," Leia argued thinking about how gentle and loving he'd been. "He was such a sweet boy before Snoke. I knew that _thing_ couldn't kill the light in my son altogether, although force knows, he tried."

Her brother nodded, contemplatively. "There will always be darkness in him, and in her. I still believe a time of reflection would benefit them both."

The general hadn't wanted to admit it before but she could see some sense in what he'd suggested. She would fight as fiercely to secure a pardon for her son as she had in all her battles both military and in the senate. However, he might need a safe haven in the interim. Leia didn't want to think of it as an exile. It would be temporary and not a repeat of past mistakes.

"One thing at a time," she reasoned. "When the First Order is no more, we can reexamine our options then."

Luke knew his sister well enough to recognise when she intended to dig her heels in and when she would make a strategic retreat. He trusted her to make the right choice.

Leia glanced in the direction of the crew quarters her thoughts drifting back to the early days of her marriage. "Perhaps I should send Han in to check on them," she frowned, recalling how she came to have a son in the first place.

"Rey has a contraceptive implant, so I don't think you have to worry about grandchildren just yet." Luke had been relieved there would be no consequences of that kind as a result of their union, but it far from quieted his other concerns.

"That's good, she's a sensible girl. Neither of them is ready for that kind of responsibility, I know I wasn't." Leia fell into a reflective mood and then something occurred to her. "Why were you for spoiling their fun, then?" She turned to her brother.

Luke grew flustered. "Well, this is hardly the time or the place, is it?"

His sister laughed heartily. "Those crew bunks aren't the most accommodating, especially for someone as tall as Ben. But when you're young and in love, such things don't matter."

Luke could have happily passed his entire life without imagining what his sister and brother-in-law, and now, his nephew and padawan, got up to in there. He blushed from head to toe which only made Leia chuckle even harder.

"Ben, what's wrong?" Rey inquired lifting her head from his chest as she sought his gaze. He had tamped down his side of their bond but she didn't need it to know he was upset about something. "You've hardly said two words since we came aboard. Don't shut me out, please." She'd been glad of the chance to be alone with him after freshening up and changing clothes, but he'd retreated into his own thoughts.

Being back on the Falcon had unsettled him more than he expected. The last time he'd entered the ship on Starkiller Base, he did so as Kylo Ren. Perhaps he should have gone with his uncle's suggestion; not that being stuck in some remote place with Luke Skywalker appealed to him any more than his current situation. "Maybe I should have chosen exile," he sighed wearily.

"What? No," Rey protested as she grabbed possessively at the shirt his father made him put on.

It was too small for his broad chest and shoulders. His muscular arms were stretching the fabric to bursting point.

"I could have got a map to you somehow. You could've come to visit me - if you wanted," he added betraying his insecurity, even after everything they'd been through together.

"Visit you?" Rey looked incredulous and horrified. She bit her bottom lip as tears sprang to her eyes. "You mean you don't want to be with me all the time?" Snoke said he'd leave her.

"Oh, my love, that's not what I meant at all." Ben hated himself for making her cry. He held her tightly to him cursing his inability to be the kind of man she deserved. "Everyone knows I'm unworthy of you, and none more than I do. You were happy with the resistance and you could be again without me."

Rey's expression turned from hurt to anger as she wriggled out of his embrace. "Don't try and make out like you'd be doing me a favour. I know who you are and who you were and I love you just the same. If you want to run away and wallow in self-pity, I won't stop you. But I won't visit you, either. You said you wanted to stay and fight to make amends. I know it's not the First Order you're afraid of, so what is it?"

Ben got up from the bunk and turned his back on her. His shoulders sagging and his head bowed as he confessed his doubts. "I hurt people, it's what I do," he said his voice choked with emotion. "It's what I've always ended up doing. My family, Luke's padawans, and everyone who ever cared about me, I tear them all apart in one way or another. I'm afraid I will end up breaking your heart and I couldn't bear it. I love you so much; I would give my life for yours without a second thought. But to think I might hurt you - I would plunge a lightsaber into my chest right now rather than risk that."

Rey leapt off the bunk to face him. He refused to meet her gaze and she reached up to caress his scarred cheek. "I love you, Ben, but you're so Bantha-brained at times," she huffed with exasperation. "Falling in love with someone is a leap of faith. No one knows how it's going to end when they start out. It might be forever, and I certainly hope it is, but that's the fun of it and the terror of trusting your heart to another person. And I still have my double-bladed staff in case you do ever disappoint me," she jested.

He couldn't help but smile at her. She had a way of knocking sense into him without the aid of her weapon. His lips crashed down on hers, hungrily.

"If my whole family wasn't sitting right outside that door, I would show you just how much you mean to me," Ben vowed his eyes blazing with love and desire.

"Judging by what Luke said earlier, they already think we're doing it," Rey said blushing but excited by the prospect.

Ben winced, "My dad once as good as told me this is where I was conceived." Recalling that had doused his ardour more effectively than a cold shower would.

"Oh," Rey exclaimed, her own passion cooled by the unwanted images his revelation conjured as she stared down at the bunk.

He took her hands in his and kissed them. "We can wait until the time is right. You deserve nothing less."

She gave him a wicked grin, her hands roaming over the exposed skin where his broad chest strained the fastenings of his borrowed shirt. "I hear the climate on Novusium is quite tropical."

"Is that so?" He smirked.

"Now you're out of all those black layers, you can finally get a bit of colour in your cheeks." Rey pushed herself up on tiptoe to kiss his pale face.

"I don't need the sun for that," Ben drawled before claiming her lips with his own.

"Poe says there are beautiful pink sandy beaches on Novusium. I want our first time to be somewhere like that, the two of us joined together beneath the stars." Rey gave a dreamy sigh. Tilting her head up to look into his eyes, she found him grimacing. "What's wrong?" She asked alarmed.

"The sand will get - _everywhere,_ " he spluttered.

She couldn't stop herself from bursting out laughing. "That's what sand does." After all the years she spent on Jakku, she knew better than most about being constantly covered in a layer of grit.

Ben didn't want her to think him a wuss. "I love sand," he declared jokingly at first and then in earnest as he thought of his grandfather and uncle. "It's in the Skywalkers' blood."

"And what about the Solos?" Rey questioned as she held his gaze. "Someday, our children will carry that name. I grew up not knowing who I was and, for all the bad stuff, there was a certain freedom to being no one. I don't want our children to see their legacy as a burden."

He sighed deeply, the idea troubled him and he saw the sense of his uncle's caution about not rushing into parenthood. He might be a terrible father. Another twinge of guilt twisted his gut as he thought about Han, would he one day find himself at the mercy of his own son or daughter? "We will have to be truthful with them and hope they understand." Ben frowned with worry, how could he ever explain the things he'd done without his child growing to hate him?

Rey sensed his misgivings and couldn't help but have a few of her own. But she knew she wanted a family with him one day despite everything. "It will be okay," she said cupping his face in her hands. "We'll be on our guard so we don't repeat the mistakes of the past."

Before he could put up an argument, the ship juddered as it came out of hyperspace. A new planet and a fresh start awaited them.

* * *

_Ten Months Later…_

The First Order dug their heels in at first. Hux attempted to use the limited resources remaining to him to inflict as much damage as possible. Thanks to Ben's knowledge of where secret stashes of weapons were stored, the resistance were able to fight back and thwart many attacks. With their main bases either captured or destroyed, the First Order were forced into a retreat. Finn used his former position as a Stormtrooper to sway dissenters and persuade them to lay down their arms. Hux swore he would never surrender and he and Captain Phasma went down fighting with the Finalizer.

General Organa managed to pull together most of the resistance factions during the final battles. Not all were willing to recognise or accept her leadership, but she had earned their respect. She made sure they remembered how her warnings about the First Order had gone unheeded. The Elder Houses across the galaxy in conjunction with surviving members of the New Republic Senate had been working to establish some kind of working governance. Many of them held Leia in high esteem despite her unfortunate parentage. The matter of her son's past involvement with the First Order caused some hand-wringing among them. However, in light of his substantial part in taking them down, he was granted a pardon. Once peace had been established attention turned to how it would be maintained. Leia resisted the calls for her to return to politics determined her family would come first this time. Han remained sceptical as to whether she could stay out of it, but he vowed to remain at her side no matter what.

As for Luke, he had grown in optimism since the return of his nephew. His thoughts turned more and more to rebuilding a new order, but not of Jedi. This would be something less formally structured and include a wider range of force users. For one thing, the no attachments rule would definitely have to be abandoned. He gifted Ben with Anakin's lightsaber and watched him train diligently with Rey. After much meditation, Luke returned the Kenobi lightsaber to her. She might not have been Obi-Wan's natural born kin but she had been partially created from his DNA and Obi-Wan wished for her to take the family name. Rey Kenobi sounded right to her and she felt proud to accept it. Ben hoped they would marry before too long, but he understood she needed to establish her own identity first.

With the re-establishing of the New Republic, the resistance began to leave the base on Novusium. Those with families and home planets to return to went home as soon as they were able. Poe and Finn accepted positions within the New Republic's strategic defence alliance. The latter had met and formed a relationship with a girl who'd been operating as a resistance spy. Chewbacca opted to return to Kashyyyk to be with his son. Leia persuaded her family to go with her to Naboo, her birth mother's home. She had found a large house in a secluded spot which overlooked a lake. Ben and Rey begged one more night alone on Novusium before they joined them. It had become their custom to go to a special place they'd discovered beyond the sand dunes and lie together beneath the stars.

Rey scooped up a handful of pink sand and let it fall through her fingers pondering the uncertainties of life. "Do you believe there can ever be lasting peace?" she questioned as she lay naked and sated in the arms of the man she loved.

"I don't know," Ben admitted. "I hope so, but I've seen too much of the evil some beings can do to be sure." He turned on his side to kiss her. "Then again, I never would have believed it possible that I would find peace, and yet here we are. I owe it all to you, my love."

"In you, I found the belonging I'd been seeking," she smiled pressing her lips to his. "We make each other whole, so I'd call us even."

He couldn't argue with that. Together they could face anything life threw at them. Two disparate pieces had become one unified force and nothing in the galaxy would ever tear them asunder.

**THE END.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can only apologise for how long it has taken me to get this final chapter written and posted. I reached a point where I hated everything I'd written and didn't think any of it was good enough. I'm still riddled with doubt but I'm determined to carry on writing. One of these days, I might manage to write something that I don't think completely sucks.
> 
> Anyway, I thank you one and all for taking the time to read this story. Special thanks and appreciation go to those who made the effort to leave a comment and awarded kudos. I hope you all enjoyed it, I would be grateful to know either way. - Mrs. P


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